LIBRARY 

©lualagical  f  eminarjj, 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

V.5 


BR  162  .N4  1865 
Neander,  August,  1789-1850 
General  history  of  the 
Christian  religion  and 


GENERAL    HISTORY 


CHRISTIAN  RELIGION  AND  CHURCH : 

FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF 

y 

DR.  AUGUSTUS  NEANDER. 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  LAST  EDITION. 


BY  JOSEPH  TORREY, 

PROFESSOR  OP  MORAL  AND  INTELLECTUAL  PHILOSOPHY  IN  THE  CNIVESITT  Or  VERMONT. 


"  I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth." — Words  of  our  Lord. 

"And  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work,  of  what  sort  it  is."    "  But  other  foundation  can  no  man 

lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Christ  Jesus." — St.  Paul. 


VOLUME  FIFTH: 

COMPRISING  THE  SIXTH  VOLUME  OF  THE  ORIGINAL. 
(eleventh  part  of  the  whole  work.) 


.,^/wwv 


PUBLISHED  FROM  THE  POSTHUMOUS  PAPERS, 

BY  K.  P.  TH.  SCHNEIDER. 

SIXTH  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY   CROCKER  &  BREWSTER. 

1866. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

CROCKER  &  BREWSTER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


On  me,  after  the  death  of  my  much  loved  teacher  and  pater- 
nal friend,  was  devolved  the  task  of  preparing  for  the  press  the 
last  greater  work  of  the  lamented  Neander,  the  sixth  volume  of 
his  church  history.  Having  discharged  this  no  less  honorable 
than  arduous  duty,  I  now  think  it  due  to  the  respected  reader 
that  I  should  give  some  brief  account  of  the  method  according 
to  which  I  have  proceeded. 

In  the  abstract,  two  possible  ways  indeed  presented  them- 
selves in  which  this  volume  might  be  prepared  for  the  public 
eye  :  either  to  follow  out  the  subject,  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  and  preparatory  labors  of  Neander  down  to  the  point  of 
time  he  originally  proposed  to  himself — the  commencement  of 
the  Reformation  —  or  to  publish  it  in  the  fragmentary  shape  in 
which  it  was  left.  Pious  regard  to  the  style  of  a  work  peculiarly 
original  in  its  kind,  and  the  design  of  Neander,  expressed  shortly 
before  his  death,  of  publishing  a  part  of  the  materials  here  pre- 
sented as  the  first  division  of  the  sixth  volume,  equally  forbade 
the  former  of  these  methods.  And  yet  in  adopting  the  latter  plan, 
liberty  was  still  left  to  the  editor  of  executing  his  task  in  very 
different  ways.  He  might,  perhaps,  consider  himself  justified, 
in  the  case  of  fragments  of  this  sort,  in  giving  them  a  finer  pol- 
ish by  applying  the  last  finishing  hand.  But  the  undersigned 
has  felt  bound  to  abstain  even  from  this.  It  has  been  his  en- 
deavor to  present  the  work  of  Neander  with  the  least  possible 
curtailment,  and  with  the  least  possible  additions  of  his  own  ; 
and  it  has  been  his  wish  rather  to  be  found  too  faithfully  exact, 
or  if  you  please  slavish,  than  arbitrary  in  the  labors  he  has  be- 
stowed.    Nevertheless,  in  hundreds   of  places  he  has  altered  the 


iv  editor's   preface. 

text,  and  in  a  still  greater  number  of  instances  corrected  the 
notes.  But  in  so  doing  he  has  only  taken  the  same  liberty  which 
the  lamented  author,  while  living,  had  already  allowed  him  to 
use  in  the  publication  of  his  more  recent  works,  the  new  edi- 
tions of  St.  Bernard,  of  Chrysostom,  and  of  Tertullian  ;  with 
this  difference,  indeed,  that  with  regard  to  these  latter,  he  could 
in  all  difficult  cases  refer  to  the  author  himself,  while  in  the  pres- 
ent case,  he  had  to  decide  according  to  his  own  best  judgment. 
Unhappily  the  editor,  who  by  long  exercise  had  become  tolera- 
bly familiar  with  Neander's  method  of  composing,  did  not  have 
it  in  his  power  to  lend  the  beloved  man  of  God  a  helping  hand, 
except  in  a  small  portion  of  this  work ;  and  various  circum- 
stances, such  as  a  growing  infirmity  of  sight,  and  occasional 
sudden  interruptions  closely  connected  with  this  calamity,  the  il- 
legibility of  his  excerpts  made  in  earlier  years,  want  of  practice 
in  his  last  assistants,  and  various  other  causes,  conspired  togeth- 
er to  render  his  labors  more  difficult,  nay,  if  possible,  distaste- 
ful to  the  restlessly  active  investigator.  Once  and  again  he  had 
even  entertained  the  thought  of  bringing  his  work  to  a  close  in 
the  form  of  a  brief  compendium;  but  strong  attachment  to  the 
labor  of  his  life,  ever  breaking  forth  afresh,  and  the  hope  that  he 
might  perhaps  yet  recover  the  use  of  his  eye-sight,  constantly 
brought  him  back  again  to  the  extremely  painful  and  yet  dearly 
beloved  continuation  of  the  task  he  had  begun.  How  natural, 
that  the  manuscripts  he  left  behind  him  should  also,  in  various 
ways,  bear  upon  them  the  marks  of  their  origin.  The  editor, 
therefore,  has  not  hesitated  to  correct  all  manifest  errors  of  fact, 
so  far  as  they  came  to  his  knowledge,  whether  arising  from  some 
misunderstanding  of  the  assistants,  or,  as  the  case  often  was, 
from  the  illegibility  of  Neander's  excerpts,  or  from  any  other 
cause.  Or  ought  he  to  have  hesitated  to  do  this  when,  for  ex- 
ample, the  Mss.  p.  371,  spoke  of  a  Marshal  of  the  empire  by  the 
name  of  Von  Pappenheim,  or  when,  p.  340,  the  Easter  festival 
was  said  to  fall  on  the  31st  of  May,  or  when  the  text  read  "  That 
one  Cardinal  John  would  bring  disgrace  upon  the  pope  and  car- 
dinals ; "  or  when,  as  was  not  seldom  the  case  in  the  section 
concerning  Matthias  of  Janow,  the  translation  conveyed  an  al- 
most directly  contrary  meaning  to  the  correct  reading  of  the  orig- 
inal? On  the  other  hand,  in  all  cases  where  the  matter  was  at 
all  doubtful  to  me,  I  have  allowed  the  text  to  be  printed  without 
alteration,  or  at  most  (compare,  e.  g.,  p.  317,  and  344,)  simply 
intimated  my  doubts  in  the  shape  of  notes.     The  style  more- 


editor's  preface.  V 

over  has  been,  in  here  and  there  an  instance,  slightly  altered  by 
me,  and  repetitions  of  longer  or  shorter  extent,  such  as  were 
almost  unavoidable  in  a  work  which  sprang  purely  out  of  the 
recollection  of  Neander,  expunged.  Among  the  papers,  further- 
more, were  found  a  series  of  sheets  which  Neander  had  marked, 
partly  with  a  conjectural  indication  of  their  being  designed,  on 
a  final  revision,  for  insertion  in  their  appropriate  places.  These 
I  have  carefully  inserted  wherever  it  could  be  done,  either  at 
once,  or  only  with  some  slight  alteration  of  form,  and  have 
never  laid  them  aside  except  in  those  cases  where  their  insertion 
would  have  required  an  entire  recasting  of  the  text.  But  addi- 
tions and  the  completion  of  defective  parts,  in  the  strict  and 
proper  sense,  I  have  never  allowed  myself  to  make,  except  on 
literary  points,  and  that  in  perfect  accordance  with  Neander's 
wishes.  Unhappily  the  more  recent  works  on  church  history  are 
often,  in  this  respect,  in  the  highest  degree  unreliable,  as  one  au- 
thor is  found  to  copy  the  false  citations  of  another.  Lewis's 
History  of  the  Life  and  Sufferings  of  John  Wicklif,  for  example, 
is  a  work  which  seems  actually  to  have  been  in  the  hands  of  very 
few  of  our  church  historians. 

In  proceeding  to  make  a  few  brief  remarks  on  single  portions 
of  the  present  volume,  let  me  begin  by  observing  that  the  first 
portion  which  relates  to  the  history  of  the  papacy  and  of  the 
church  constitution  down  to  the  time  of  the  council  of  Basle,  as 
it  was  the  earliest  in  the  time  of  its  composition,  is  manifestly 
also  the  most  complete  as  to  form.  As  regards  the  continuation 
of  this  section,  Neander  left  behind  only  a  series  of  preparatory 
papers,  but  no  proper  sketch  of  the  whole,  nor  even  elaboration 
of  single  passages.  This  latter  labor  had  been  bestowed  indeed 
upon  passages  belonging  to  the  second  section  treating  of  the 
Reformation  of  England ;  yet  these  single  passages,  attached 
for  the  most  part  to  the  unfinished  exposition  of  Wicklif  s  doc- 
trines, were  so  unconnected,  that  the  editor  felt  himself  com- 
pelled, in  following  out  his  principle,  to  leave  them  aside.  And 
he  considered  himself  the  more  justified  in  so  doing,  because 
they  contained  little  else  than  translations  of  single  passages 
from  the  work  of  Vaughan.  The  third  principal  section,  relating 
to  the  history  of  the  Bohemian  reformers,  belongs  among  those 
parts  which  Neander  constantly  treated  with  especial  predilec- 
tion. It  will  assuredly  afford  no  small  satisfaction  to  the  admi- 
rers of  the  great  departed,  to  find  that  it  was  at  least  permitted 
him  to  bring  to  its  close  the  history  of  John  Huss ;  and  if  this, 


vi  editor's  preface. 

too,  is  here  presented  to  us,  as  the  well  informed  reader  will  be 
at  no  loss  to  discern  that  it  is,  only  in  its  first  rough  sketch,  yet 
this  very  circumstance  enables  us  to  see  more  profoundly  into 
the  intellectual  power  and  vigor  of  the  departed  historian,  which 
was  preserved  unimpaired  to  the  end.  We  can  only  wish  that 
the  new  light  thrown  by  Neander  on  the  great  Bohemian  re- 
formers might  serve  as  a  stimulus  to  some  competent  hand 
soon  to  furnish  us  with  an  edition  of  the  hitherto  unpublished 
writings  of  Militz,  of  Conrad  of  Waldhausen,  and  particularly 
of  the  pioneer  work  of  Matthias  of  Janow !  Also  a  new  edi- 
tion of  the  works  of  John  Huss,  or  at  least  the  preparation  of  a 
chronologically  arranged  edition  of  his  letters,  belongs  among 
the  piis  desideriis  in  the  department  of  church  history.  Many 
of  the  preliminary  labors  to  such  a  performance  are  to  be  found 
in  the  excellent  work  of  Palacky.  Neander  has  repeatedly  al- 
luded to  the  incorrectness  and  inexactitude  of  the  Nurenberg 
edition  of  1558,  and  the  passages  adduced  by  him  might  easily 
be  multiplied  to  tenfold  the  number.  Such  a  monument  is  due 
from  us  Protestants  to  the  memory  of  John  Huss,  of  whom  our 
Luther,  in  his  lectures  on  Isaiah,  so  strikingly  remarks  :  "  Existi- 
mo  Johannem  Huss  suo  sanguine  peperisse  Evangelion,  quod 
nunc  habemus."  A  man  of  learning  so  enthusiastic  in  his  ad- 
miration of  Huss  as  M.  Ferdinand  B.  Mikowic,  who  has  already 
favored  us  with  a  new  corrected  translation  of  the  letters  that 
had  been  already  published  by  Luther,  would  be  just  the  person 
to  engage  in  such  an  undertaking.  The  Bohemian  work  con- 
taining the  letter  of  Huss  should  be  published  in  Bohemian, 
with  a  German  or  Latin  translation  on  the  opposite  columns. 
Such  an  enterprise  would  certainly  be  crowned  with  success. 
Finally,  on  the  section  relating  to  the  German  Friends  of  God, 
Neander  was  still  occupied  during  the  last  days  of  his  life ;  in 
truth,  the  habitual  occupation  of  his  mind  with  the  work  of 
his  life  intermingled  among  the  pleasing  fancies  that  floated  be- 
fore the  mind  of  this  departing  friend  of  God. 

Gladly  would  I,  in  compliance  with  the  urgent  wishes  of  Ne- 
ander's  admirers,  have  hurried  to  a  speedier  conclusion  the  pub- 
lication of  the  present  volume ;  but  this  could  not  be  done  in 
connection  with  my  professional  duties.  Besides,  there  were 
other  hindrances.  The  library  of  Neander,  unhappily,  did  not 
stand  at  my  command.  Several  works  and  editions  which  Ne- 
ander had  cited,  such  as  Lewis's  History  of  Wicklif,  and  the  first 
edition  of  Vaughan's  work,  were  not  to  be  found,  even  in  the 


editor's   preface.  vii 

Royal  Library  in  this  place,  and  they  could  not  otherwise  be 
obtained  than  by  ordering  them  from  England.  I  may  doubt- 
less rely,  therefore,  on  the  kind  indulgence  of  my  readers.  But 
I  confidently  hope,  too,  and  this  would  be  my  best  reward,  that 
faithfulness  to  my  never  to  be  forgotten  master,  and  to  his  work, 
will  not  be  found  wanting. 

K.  F.  TH.  SCHNEIDER. 
Berlin,  Oct.  31st,  1851. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


VOLUME  FIFTH. 

SIXTH  PERIOD  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 
FROM  BONIFACE  VHI.   TO  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


SECTION  FIRST. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    PAPACY    AND    OF      THE    CHURCH    CONSITUTION    DOWN    TO 
THE    BEGINNING    OF    THE    COUNCIL    OF    BASLE.       P.   1 — 134. 

Character  of  this  period  as  a  period  of  transition,  particularly  evinced  in  the 
history  of  the  papacy 1 

Boniface  VIII.  His  plots  against  his  predecessor  Coelestin.  Abuse  of 
the  papal  plenitude  of  power.  Bestowment  of  indulgences  on  occasion 
of  the  Jubilee,  A.  D.  1300 3 

Boniface  VIII.  and  Philip  the  Fair.  The  bull  Clerices  laicos  of  the 
year  1296.  The  counter  declaration  of  the  king,  evincing  a  mere  free- 
minded  spirit    6 

More  violent  outbreak  of  the  quarrel.  Saiset  de  Pamiers,  papal  legate. 
His  dismission  and  arrest.  Bonface's  dictatorial  letter.  Laconic  reply 
of  the  king.  Free  opinion  set  forth  by  the  king's  advocate,  Peter  de 
Boses.  The  longer  letter  of  the  pope,  dated  5th  of  December,  1301. 
The  bull  Unam  sanctam.  The  protests  of  the  French  barons  and  bish- 
ops. Unsatisfactory  justification  of  the  pope  by  the  cardinals.  Journeys 
to  Rome  forbidden.  Bull  of  excommunication  on  the  13th  of  April,  1303. 
Assembling  of  the  French  estates.  Their  charges  against  Boniface  and 
appeal  to  a  general  council.  Bull  of  the  15th  of  August,  1303.  Cap- 
ture of  the  pope  at  Anagni  by  William  of  Nogaret.  His  firmness  in  mis- 
fortune ;    his  liberation  ;  his  death 13 

Controversial  tract  by  jEgidius  of  Rome.  Contrast  drawn  between  the 
actual  papacy  and  its  idea.  The  secular  power  subject  to  the  spiritual 
only  in  purely  spiritual  matters.  The  pope  head  of  the  church  only  in 
a  certain  sense.     Against  the  sophistical   proposition   that  man's  original  > 

state  is  restored  in  the  unity  of  the  papacy.  Against  the  arbitrary  absol- 
ving of  subjects  from  their  oath  of  allegiance.  The  papal  plenitudo  po- 
testatis  a  limited  one.  More  correct  view  of  the  historical  facts  relating 
to  these  matters 15 

Treatise  by  John  of  Paris  on  royal  and  papal  authority.     Secular  lordship 


x  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 

not  in  contradiction  with  the  vocation  of  the  pope,  nor  yet  derived  from 
it  The  priest  in  spiritual  things  greater  than  the  prince,  in  secular 
things  the  converse.  Against  arbitrary  administration  of  church  proper- 
ty by  the  pope.  The  secular  power  of  princes  not  derived  from  the 
pope.  Defence  of  the  independent  authority  of  bishops  and  priests. 
Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  extends  solely  to  spiritual  matters.  Sovereign 
princes  to  be  corrected  only  in  an  indirect  manner.  Rights  of  the  em- 
peror with  regard  to  incorrigible  popes.  Against  the  gift  of  Constan- 
tine.     On  the  possible  deposition  or  abdication  of  the  pope 19 

Benedict  XL     Makes  advances  to  meet  France.     His  speedy  death 19 

Quarrel  between  the  Italian  and  the  French  party  in  the  choice  of  a  new 
pope.  Crafty  advice  of  the  French  cardinal  Du  Prat.  Bertrand 
d'Agoust  as  Clement  the  V.  Transfer  of  the  papal  residence  to  Avig- 
non in  1309 20 

The  consequences  of  this  transfer.  The  popes  become  tools  in  the  hands 
of  the  French  kings.  Increased  corruption  of  the  papal  court.  In- 
creased usurpations  of  the  hierarchy.  Reaction  called  forth  thereby. 
The  more  liberal  theological  tendency  of  the  Paris  university.  Opposi- 
tion between  the  French  and  the  Italian  cardinals 22 

Dependence  of  Clement  V.  upon  Philip.  Process  against  Boniface  before 
the  papal  consistory.  His  vindication  at  the  council  of  Vienne  and  the 
abandonment  of  his  bulls.  Abolishment  of  the  order  of  the  Knights 
Templar 23 

John  XXII.  Ban  and  interdict  against  Louis  the  Bavarian.  Appeal  of  the 
latter  to  a  general  council.  Violent  contests  in  Germany.  Expedi- 
tion of  Louis  to  Italy,  A.  D.  1327.  The  more  rigid  and  the  more  lax 
Franciscans.     Michael  of  Chesena  and  William  Occam 25 

Marsilius  of  Padua.  His  Defensor  Pacis,  a  foretoken  of  the  protestant 
spirit.  Christ  alone  the  rock  and  the  head  of  the  church.  The  sacred 
Scriptures  the  highest  source  of  knowledge  of  the  faith.  More  sharply 
drawn  distinction  of  the  ideas  of  church  and  state.  Supreme  authority 
of  general  councils  Purely  spiritual  authority  of  the  church.  The 
clergy  in  the  cabC  of  actions  civilly  punishable  subjected  to  the  laws  of 
the  state.  God  alone  can  forgive  sin.  The  absolving  of  subjects  from 
their  oath  of  allegiance  heretical ;  the  crusade  proclaimed  against  the 
emperor  abominable ;  indulgences  promised  to  such  as  engaged  in  it 
fraudulent.  Recognizes  the  want  of  foundation  to  the  hierarchical  sys- 
tem. Originally  one  priestly  office.  Peter  had  no  preeminence  of  rank, 
and  perhaps  was  never  in  Rome.  The  primacy  of  the  pope  grew  up 
gradually  out  of  circumstances.  Necessity  of  calling  in  the  assistance  of 
laymen  at  general  councils.  Eye-witness  of  the  corruption  proceeding 
from  the  Roman  chancery.      His  book  an  important  sign  of  the  time ...      35 

Louis  in  Rome.  Accusation  and  deposition  of  John  XXII.  and  election  of 
Nicholas  V.  Triumph  of  John.  Fruitless  attempts  at  reconciliation  on 
ttit.  part  of  the  emperor.  Theological  dispute  concerning  the  intuition 
of  God  humiliating  to  the  pope.  His  shameful  dependance  on  the 
kings  of  France 38 

William  Occam  :  against  the  papal  plenitudo  potestatis  in  temporalibus.  To 
set  the  priestly  authority  above  that  of  kings  a  return  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. John  XXII.  a  heretic.  His  exposition  of  the  words  of  Augus- 
tine :  Ego  vero  ecclesise  caet.  Arguments  to  prove  that  all  doctrines 
must  have  their  foundation  in  the  sacred  scriptures 40 

Benedict  XII,  a  man  with  the  severity  of  a  reformer.  Opposite  reports 
(Bibamus   papaliter) 41 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  xi 

Clement  VI.  Reduction  of  the  Jubilee  to  fifty  years  by  the  constitution 
Unigenitus  of  the  year  1349.  Renewed,  but  still  fruitless  negotiations  of 
the  emperor  Louis.  Disorders  in  church  and  state  (Friends  of  God) 
John  of  Winterthur  traces  all  corruption  to  the  gift  of  Constantine  as 
the  cause.     His  complaints 43 

Emperor  Charles  IV.  Maintenance  of  the  ban  pronounced  on  Louis  and 
his  adherents,  and  reactions  thereby  called  forth  against  the  Roman 
yoke.  Starting  up  again  of  the  story  about  the  return  of  Frederic  II. 
Quiet  reign  of  Innocent  VI.  Petrarch's  invitation  to  Urban  V.  to  return 
back  to  Rome.  Attempted  return  to  Rome  in  1367.  Back  to  Avignon 
in  1370.  Return  to  Rome  of  Gregory  XI.  with  a  part  of  the  cardinals 
in   1376 44 

Gregory  XI.  His  bull  suspending  the  form  hitherto  observed  in  the  elec- 
tion of  pope 44 

Origin  of  the  forty  years'  schism  in  the  church :  (difficulty  of  arriving  at  a 
knowledge  of  the  real  course  of  events.)  Movements  of  the  Romans. 
The  two  parties  among  the  French  cardinals.  Election  of  Urban  VI. 
Circular-letter  of  the  cardinals.  Secret  letter  to  France.  Impolitic 
conduct  of  Urban.  Protest  of  the  cardinals  at  Anagni.  Election  of 
Clement  VH.  at  Ferredi 47 

Import  of  the  schism  in  the  church  :  evidence  of  the  corruption  of  the  car- 
dinals and  of  the  church.  Increase  of  simony  and  of  the  matter  of  in- 
dulgences. Belief  in  the  necessity  of  one  visible  head  of  the  church  un- 
dermined. Longing  after  a  regeneration  of  the  church.  More  liberal 
and  at  the  same  time  conservative  tendency  in  France.  More  radical 
reformatory  tendencies  in  England  and  Bohemia 48 

Clement  at  Avignon.  King  Charles  I.  declares  in  his  favor.  Urbanists, 
Clementists,  and  Neutrals.  Henry  of  Hessia,  head  of  the  latter  at  Paris. 
His  prediction.  Efforts  of  the  University  of  Paris  to  effect  a  removal 
of  the  schism  by  means  of  a  general  council 49 

Henry  of  Langenstein's  Consilium  pacis  of  the  year  1381 :  the  schism  con- 
sidered as  an  admonition  of  God.  Refutation  of  doubts  against  the  pro- 
priety of  convoking  a  general  council.  Which  could  be  convoked,  too, 
by  the  collective  body  of  the  cardinals.  The  papacy  only  caput  secun- 
darium  of  the  church.  Corruption  since  the  gift  of  Constantine.  Single 
propositions  of  reform 50 

Passionate  character  of  Urban  VI.  His  quarrel  with  the  king  of  Naples. 
Arrest  of  suspected  cardinals 51 

Boniface  IX :  his  cupidity.  New  reduction  of  the  Jubilee  (already  re- 
duced by  Urban).  His  itinerant  sellers  of  indulgences.  The  Annates. 
The  Bonifacian  Plantation 52 

Great  efforts  made  by  the  University  of  Paris.  Clement's  skilful  negotiator 
Peter  de  Luna 53 

Formal  opinion  drawn  up  by  the  Paris  University,  A.  D.  1394,  composed 
by  Nicholas  of  Clemangis:  Via  cessionis,  compromissi,  concilii  generalis. 
On  the  form,  the  right,  and  the  necessity  of  the  convocation  of  a  general 
council.  Emphatic  call  upon  the  king  to  bring  about  the  restoration  of 
peace  to  the  church.  Complaints  about  ecclesiastical  abuses.  Defence 
of  the  University  against  the  reproach  of  arrogance 55 

Answer  of  the  king.     Bold  letter  of  the  University  to  the  pope 56 

Displeasure  of  the  pope  with  the  University.  Second  letter  by  the  latter. 
Death  of  Clement  VII.  Attempt  to  prevent  the  election  of  a  new 
pope.  Hurried  election  of  Benedict  XHI.  Ignores  the  obligation  he 
he  had  agreed  to,  previous  to  his  election 56 


Xll  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

Clemangis''  work  de  ruina  ecclesiae ;  The  schism  a  consequence  of  the  cor- 
ruption in  the  church,  and  a  means  to  bring  her  to  the  consciousness  of 
the  same.  The  corruption  in  the  several  orders  of  the  church.  A  cure 
possible  only  by  the  hand  of  God 60 

Clemangis'  work  de  studio  theologico.  Neglect  of  the  office  of  preaching 
the  chief  cause  of  the  corruption  of  the  church.  Theology  an  affair  of 
the  heart,  not  of  the  understanding,  and  the  sacred  scriptures  the  ulti- 
mate appeal  in  matters  of  religion 62 

Bold  letter  of  the  Paris  University  addressed  to  the  newly  elected  pope 
Benedict  XIII,  and  evasive  reply  of  the  latter 63 

27<e  three  principal  church  parties.  The  advocates  of  the  medieral  ecclesias- 
tical law  (Toulouse).  The  reckless  advocates  of  the  new  ecclesiastical 
law.     The  moderate  advocates  of  the  new  system  (as  Gerson,  D'Ailly) .      64 

The  particular  position  of  Nicholas  of  Clemangis.  opposition  to  the  pas- 
sionate advocates  of  the  new  ecclesiastical  freedom.  Opposes  the 
subtraction  of  obedience  to  Benedict.  Personal  inclination  to  the  latter. 
His  letter  to  Benedict  of  the  year  1394  (arbitrary  alteration  of  it).  Be- 
comes the  pope's  secretary.  His  description  of  the  court  of  Avignon. 
Benedict's  regard  of  him.  Description  of  the  corruption  of  the  church 
(in  his  letters).  Even  the  fides  informis  was  wanting.  Egotism  nour- 
ished the  schism.  The  renunciation  of  Benedict  only  did  injury.  Ne- 
gotiations ought  to  be  conducted  in  a  mild  spirit 70 

Partial  return  of  the  French  church  to  obedience  to  Benedict  in  the  year 
1404 70 

Innocent  VII.  dies  1406.  Election  of  the  octogenary  Gregory  XII.  His 
zeal  at  the  beginning  for  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church.  En- 
trance upon  negotiations  with  Benedict.  Change  of  disposition  produced 
in  Gregory  by  his  nephews.  Incursion  of  Ladislaus  of  Naples  into 
Rome.  Benedict's  seeming  readiness.  Gregory's  subterfuges  to  avoid 
the  common  abdication  at  Savona.  Gregory  in  Lucca.  The  bold 
sermon  of  a  Carmelite.  Benedict  in  Porto  Veuere.  Deceptions  practised 
on  both  sides.  Gregory's  letters  missive  for  a  general  council  (Aquileia). 
Exasperation  of  his  cardinals  and  their  flight  to  Pisa.  Haughtiness  of 
Benedict.  Complete  subtraction  of  obedience  on  the  part  of  the  French 
church.  Benedict's  flight  to  Arragon.  Letters  missive  for  a  general 
council  to  meet  at  Pisa  in  the  year  1409  issued  by  the  cardinals  of  both 
parties 77 

Gerson's  principles  of  reform.  Restoration  of  the  church  theocracy  to  its 
foundation  as  it  was  before  the  middle  ages.  (The  essential  unity  of  the 
church  reposing  solely  upon  union  with  Christ.  At  the  same  time  how- 
ever the  hierachy  with  the  pope  at  the  head  a  thing  necessary  for  all 
times.  Limitation  of  the  pope's  authority  by  a  general  council,  the  con- 
vocation of  which  was  not  necessarily  dependant  on  the  pope  alone). 
Without  no  possibility  of  removing  the  schism,  this  therefore  a  main 
business  of  the  council  (requires  more  careful  church-visitations,  and  a  limit 
to  excommunications).  His  treatise  de  unitate  ecclesiae  addressed  to 
the  council  of  Pisa.  Defence  of  the  authority  of  the  council  against  the 
objections  drawn  from  the  letter  of  the  positive  law >3 

The  council  of  Pisa.  Proceeds  consistently  according  to  these  principles. 
Introductory  discourse  by  cardinal  Peter  Philargi.  Deposition  of  both 
the  popes  in  the  15th  session.  Fruitless  protests  of  the  emperor  Rupert 
and  of  the  envoys  of  Benedict.  Engagements  entered  into  by  the  car- 
dinals previous  to  the  election  of  a  pope.  Choice  of  Alexander  V.  Ger- 
son's discourse  preached  before  him.     Confirmation  of  the  resolutions  of 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  xiii 

the  council  by  the  pope.     The  reform   put  off  to  a  new  general  council 

after  three  years 88 

Clemangis  on  the  failure  of  the  council  of  Pisa 89 

Cardinal  Balthazar  Cossa.  His  course  of  life.  As  legate  at  Bologna.  His 
influence  at  the  council  of  Pisa.  His  management  of  Alexander  V. 
Mounts  the  papal  chair  after  his  death,  under  the  title  of  John  XXIII. 
His  crafty  policy.     Elevation  of  D'Ailly  to  the  post  of  Cardinal.     The 

owl  council  at  Rome  in  the  year  1412 91 

Gerson's  sermo  coram  rege  soon  after  Alexander's  election,  (his  hopes  of  a 

union  with  the  Greeks) 93 

D'Ailly's  tract  de  difiicultate  reformationis  in  concilio  universalis 94 

Gerson's  work  concerning  the  right  union  and  reformation  of  the  church  by 
a  general  council.  Everything  else  should  yield  to  the  best  good  of  the 
church.  On  the  possibility  of  deposing  a  pope.  Approbation  of  immoral 
means.  Invitation  to  the  subtraction  of  obedience  from  popes,  since  it  is 
not  on  the  pope  men  believe.  The  emperor  must  convoke  the  council. 
The  pitiable  results  of  the  council  of  Pisa  ought  not  to  dishearten.  The 
pope  not  authorized  to  alter  the  decrees  of  a  council.  The  Bonifacian 
Plantation  should  be  utterly  eradicated.  Description  of  the  corruption 
of  the  Roman  chancery.  The  end  of  the  council  was  in  the  first  place 
union  under  one  head,  in  the  next  place  union  in  the  customs  and  laws 
of  the  primitive  church.  Even  John  XXIII.  must,  if  required,  abdicate. 
It  would  be  best  to  elect  no  one  of  the  three   popes  and  no   cardinal  to 

the  papacy 1 00 

Quarrel  between  Ladislaus  of  Naples  and  John.  Conference  of  the  latter 
with  the  emperor  Sigismund.  Agreement  of  the  pope  to  call  a  general 
council.  Place  of  its  assembling.  The  pope  repents  of  the  agreement 
he  had  entered  into.  Letters  missive  for  the  council  of  Constance  to  be 
assembled  for  the  restoration  of  church  unity  and  for  reform  in  head  and 
members  in  November  of  the  year  1414,  issued  by  the  pope  and  the 
emperor 102 


THE    COUNCIL    OF    CONSTANCE. 

Preparation  for  the  transactions  of  the  council  by  D'Ailly's  monita  de  ne- 
cessitate reformationis  ecclesiae  in  capite  et  in  membris 102 

John  not  without  anxiety  at  Constance.  Compact  entered  into  with  Duke 
Frederic  of  Austria.     Arrives  on  the  28th  of  October 103 

Resolutions  of  the  council  with  regard  to  the  voting  by  nations.  Concern- 
ing the  right  to  vote  of  university  teachers,  of  the  inferior  clergy  and  of 
princes  and  their  envoys.  On  the  question  whether  the  council  was  to  be 
considered  an  independent  continuation  of  the  council  of  Pisa 104 

Presentation  of  charges  against  the  pope  in  February  1415.  His  readiness 
at  the  beginning  to  abdicate  in  consequence  of  these  charges.  His  later 
subterfuges  and  intrigues.     His  flight  on  the  20th  of  March    106 

The  pope's  letters  from  Schaffhausen.  Threatening  schism  in  the  council. 
Holding  together  of  the  free-minded  members.  Gerson's  discourse  on 
the  23d  of  March  concerning  the  authority  of  the  council.  Opposition 
of  the  majority  of  cardinals.  Proclamation  of  the  principles  of  Gerson 
in  the  name  of  the  council  on  the  30th  of  March  (omissions  by  cardinal 
Zabarella).  Proposal  to  exclude  the  cardinals  in  the  transactions  relat- 
ing to  reform.  Discourse  of  the  Benedictine  Gentianus  against  the  pope 
and  the  cardinals Ill 

b 


XIV  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

Citation  of  the  pope  on  the  2d  of  May.  John  a  prisoner  in  Ratolfszell. 
His  deposition  on  the  29th  of  May.  Acquiescence  in  the  same  on  his 
part.     His  removal  to  Gottleben 112 

Negotiations  with  Gregory  and  Benedict.  By  Gregory's  compliance  and 
in  spite  of  Benedict's  obstinacy,  the  council  succeeds  in  restoring  unity 
to  the  church.  The  two  next  problems  for  the  council :  reformation  and 
the  election  of  a  pope 112 

Appointment  of  a  collegium  reformatiorium  already  in  August,  1415.  Cor- 
ruption of  morals  at  Constance.  Discourse  of  the  Franciscan  Bernard 
Baptise 114 

Nicholas  of  Cle*mangis  on  the  council.  His  complaints  of  egotism,  ambition, 
party-zeal,  want  of  true  penitence  at  the  council.  His  later  letter  to  the 
council.  His  warning  against  a  premature  election  of  a  pope,  proceed- 
ing in  part  from  his  attachment  to  Benedict 118 

Controversy  on  the  question  which  should  take  precedence,  the  reformation 
or  the  election  of  a  pope.  Efforts  of  the  emperor  Sigismund  for  the 
former  in  alliance  with  the  Germans  and  the  English.  Discourses  of 
Stephen  of  Prague  and  of  the  arch-bishop  of  Genoa.  Fierce  resistance 
of  the  cardinals.  Complaints  against  the  Germans.  Death  of  the  arch- 
bishop Hallam  of  Salisbury.  Protest  of  the  German  nation  on  the  14th 
of  September,  1417,      They  finally   yield 124 

Resolution  of  the  council  respecting  the  frequent  appointment  of  general 
councils.  Peace  restored  by  the  mediation  of  the  bishop  of  Winchester. 
Controversies  about  the  form  of  the  papal  election.     Choice  of  Martin  V.   1 26 

Complaints  of  the  French  deputies  before  the  emperor  on  the  procrastina- 
tion of  reform ;  and  his  answer.  Plan  of  the  reformation  drawn  up  by 
the  Germans,  also  respecting  the  possibility  of  deposing  a  pope  and  on 
the  limitation  of  indulgences.  Plan  of  reform  drawn  up  by  the  pope 
with  reference  to  the  above.  Concordats  of  the  pope  with  the  several 
nations 127 

Last  session  of  the  council  on  the  22d  of  April,  1518.  Difficulties  between 
the  Poles  and  the  Lithuanians.  Their  appeal  from  the  pope  to  the  next 
general  council.  Constitution  of  Martin  V.  in  contradiction  with  the 
principles  proclaimed  at  Constance.  Gerson's  Tractatus  quomodo  et  an 
liceat  in  causis  fidei  a  summo  pontifice  appellare 1 28 

Council  of  Pavia  in  1423.  Transfer  of  the  same  to  Siena.  Letters  missive 
for  the  next  general  council  to  meet  in  Basle  in  the  year  1431.  Ap- 
pointment of  Cesarini  as  legate.  Death  of  Martin  V.  Eugene  IV. 
his  successor.  Disinclination  of  Cesarini  to  act  as  legate  to  this  council. 
His  journey  to  Bohemia.     His  journey  through  Germany  to  Basle.  ...    129 

Designed  transfer  of  the  council  to  Bologna.  Cesarini's  opposition  to  the 
design  of  Eugene.  Hints  at  the  disgrace  that  threatened  the  papal  see 
in  consequence  of  such  a  measure,  and  refutation  of  the  reasons  assigned 
by  the  pope  for  the  transfer 133 


SECTION  SECOND. 

RELATING    TO    THE    HISTORY   OF     THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE.      P.  134. 

I.   The  Reformatory  movements  in  England.     P.  134. 

Way  prepared  for  greater  freedom  in  the  expression  of  religious  convictions 
by  the  usurpations  of  the  hierarchy  since  the   time  of  Innocent  III.  by 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XV 

Robert  Grossheads,  Roger  Bacon,  by  the  quarrel  with  the  mendicant 
monks  by  Richard  of  Armagh.  The  English  parliament  under  Edward 
III 135 

John  Wicklif.  Born  1324.  Studied  at  Oxford.  Zeal  for  service  and 
religion.  The  speculative  element  in  him.  His  realism.  His  work 
"on  the  last  times  of  the  church."  1363  appointed  a  tutor  in  Canter- 
bury Hall  by  Islep.  1366  deposed  by  Simon  Langham.  Wicklifs  ap- 
peal to  Rome.  His  approval  of  the  measure  forbidding  to  pay  Peter's 
pence  to  the  pope.  The  chancery  decides  against  him.  Appointed 
chaplain  to  the  king.  Connected  with  the  duke  of  Lancaster.  1372 
made  Doctor  of  Theology.  Wicklif  as  king's  envoy  to  Bruges.  Finds 
the  papacy  not  founded  in  divine  right 137 

Wicklif  s  principles  of  reform  :  his  opposition  to  the  worldliness  of  the  cler- 
gy, and  what  he  required  of  them.  His  exposition  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments      ...     138 

Wicklif  as  an  opponent  of  the  mendicant  monks 141 

Wicklif  as  teacher  of  Theology  and  Philosophy  at  Oxford,  and  at  the 
same  time  parish  priest  at  Lutterworth  from  the  year  1375.  The  prom- 
inence he  gave  to  preaching.     His  idea  of  itinerant  preachers 143 

Society  of  "  poor  priests,"  afterwards  called  Lollards.  Perhaps  too  literal 
imitation  of  the  apostolic  church.  Yet  at  all  times  a  seminary  for  do- 
mestic missions.     Wicklifs  work :  Why  poor  priests  have  no  benefices  ?   145 

Wicklifs  enemies,  particularly  among  the  mendicant  monks.  Their  com- 
plaint of  the  year  1376,  on  the  ground  of  nineteen  propositions  taken 
from  his  lectures        146 

The  three  condemnatory  bulls  of  Gregory  XL  of  the  year  1377.  Unfav- 
orable reception  they  met  with  in  England. 147 

Wicklif  protected  by  the  civil  power.  The  first  court  for  the  trial  of  Wick- 
lif held  by  archbishop  Sudbury  at  Lambeth  :  its  dissolution.  Second 
court  in  the  year  1378.     Wicklifs  declaration 148 

Wicklifs  severe  illness  in  the  year  1379  :  visit  paid  to  him  by  the  mendi- 
cant  monks 149 

Wicklifs  translation  of  the  Bible  in  the  year  1380  (John  of  Trevisa). 
Knighton's  opinion  of  it.  Wicklifs  defence  of  it.  The  New  Testament 
intelligible  to  all 151 

His  twelve  arguments  against  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  of  the  year 
1381 152 

Wicklifs  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  supper  :  attacks  the  accidentia  sine  subjecto 
on  rational  and  exegetical  grounds.  Contends  against  every  mode  of  a 
bodily  presence  of  Christ,  and  against  the  impanatio  of  John  of  Paris. 
Yet  bread  and  wine  not  barely  representative  but  efficacious  signs.  Dis- 
tinction of  a  threefold  mode  of  being  of  the  body  of  Christ.  Want  of 
uniformity  in  his  mode  of  expressing  himself  on  this  subject  (explanation 
of  the  words  of  institution).  His  zeal  against  the  doctrine  of  the  acci- 
dentibus  sine  subjecto.     His  opinion  respecting  the  adoration  of  the  host  157 

Condemnation  of  the  twelve  arguments  by  the  University  of  Oxford. 
Wicklifs  appeal  to  the  king 157 

Political  movements,  and  their  relation  to  Wicklif.  Insurrection  of  the 
peasantry  headed  by  John   Balle 160 

Wicklifs  quite  too  political  memorial  to  parliament.  Courtney  created  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  Wicklifs  more  violent  attacks  against  the  men- 
dicant monks  in  the  year  1382.  Admonition  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster. 
Courtney's  earthquake-council.  His  ordinance  directed  against  the 
Wicklifite  doctrines the  king's   warrant   against  the  propagators  of 


XVI  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

the  same.     Wicklif's  confession  of  faith  respecting  the  Lord's  supper  and 

his  tract  in  defence  of  himself  against  the  earthquake  council 163 

Wicklif,  from  the  year  1382  in  retirement  at  Lutterworth.  His  judgment 
respecting  the  schism  which  had  broken  out  in  the  meanwhile.  New  at- 
tacks upon  the  popes  occasioned  by  the  bulls  of  crusade  and  indulgence 
issued  by  Urban  VI.  His  bold  reply  to  his  citation  to  Rome.  His  death 
on  the  31st  of  December,  1384 165 

Wicklif's  doctrines  :  connection  of  his  philosophy  and  theology.  Nominal- 
ism something  heretical.  Against  considering  philosophical  and  theolog- 
ical truths  as  opposed  to  one  another.  Harmony  of  thought  and  being. 
Everything  possible,  actual.     His  view  of  Almighty  power 167 

His  doctrine  of  predestination.  Rejection  of  the  merituin  de  congruo.  On 
the  causality  of  evil.  Sin  as  well  as  its  punishment  requisite  in  order  to 
the  beauty  of  the  universe.  Rejection  of  the  idle  questions  of  scholasti- 
cism about  empty  possibilities 168 

His  genuinely  protestant  principle  of  sole  reference  to  Christ.  Hence  his 
opposition  to  the  worship  of  saints 169 

Wicklif  opposed  to  the  multiplication  of  sacraments.  Confirmation  a  blas- 
phemy against  God.  Bishop  and  presbyter  the  same  in  the  time  of  St. 
Paul.  Against  the  secular  goods  of  the  church.  Church  confession  not 
unconditionally  necessary,  only  inward  penitence.  Contends  against  the 
doctrine  of  the  Thesaurus  meritorum  supererogationis 171 

On  the  degeneracy  of  the  church  in  the  second  century.  Necessity  of  abol- 
ishing the  monastic  orders.  His  remarkable  prediction  of  Luther's  re- 
formation. His  old  scholastic  view  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  com- 
bined with  his  reduction  of  everything  to  grace.  His  more  spiritual 
conception  of  the  church.  Contends  against  the  necessity  of  a  visible 
head  of  the  church  —  Also  as  of  manifold  gradations  among  the  clergy.    1 73 


2.  Movements  of  Reform  in  Bohemia.     P.   173. 
A.     The  Forerunners  of  John  Huss.     1J.  173. 

Militz  of  Kremsia.  Archdeacon  at  Prague  and  secretary  of  Charles  IV. 
His  pious  zeal  tinctured  with  asceticism.      1363   assistant  of  the  parish 

priest  at  Bischofteinitz 1 75 

His  active  labors  as  a  preacher  at  Prague,  at  first  with  little  success  ;  at  a 
later  period,  crowned  with  the  happiest  results.  His  influence  on  per- 
sons of  the  female  sex.     Transformation  of  "  Little  Venice." 177 

His  design  of  becoming  a  monk.    Temporary  suspension  of  preaching.    His 

work  on  Antichrist 180 

His  journey  to  Rome  in  the  year  1367.  His  notification  posted  up  at  St. 
Peter's  Church.    His  arrest.    Composition  of  his  tract  on  Antichrist.    His 

liberation  and  return  to  Prague 181 

Renewed  activity  at  Prague.     Education  of  young  men.    His  beneficence. 

His   meekness 182 

Complaint  lodged  against  Militz  by  the  Magister  Klenkot.      The  bulls  of 

Gregory  XI.     Militz  dies  at  Avignon  in  1374 183 

Conrad  of  Waldhausen,  an  Austrian.  Augustinian  and  priest  at  Vienna 
from  1345.  The  jubilee  of  Clement  VI.  His  journey  to  Rome.  1360 
parish   priest  at   Leitmeritz.     Then  preacher  at  Prague.     His  sermons 

against  antichristian  corruption .  •     185 

His  influence  upon  the  Jews.    Contends  against  the  mendicant  monks.    At- 
tacks  their  simony  and  mock-holiness.     The    degeneracy    of  monachism 


TABLE    OP    CONTENTS.  XVli 

(Christ  never  begged).  Quackery  with  pretended  relics.  Accusations 
brought  against  Conrad  by  the  mendicants  and  his  defence  of  himself. 
Complaint  lodged  against  Conrad  in  the  year  1864  and  his  tract  in  de- 
fence of  himself 191 

Declines  a  call  to  Vienna.     Dies  at  Prague,  1369 192 

Matthias  of  Janow.  His  relation  to  Huss.  Magister  Parisiensis.  Disciple 
of  Militz.  His  journeys.  His  conversion.  In  1381  master  of  the  cathe- 
dral at  Prague.     Dies  1394 ... 194 

Janow's  Work,  De  regulis  Veteris  et  Novi  Testamenti.  The  exegetical 
matter  in  it  of  little  importance.  Contains  contemplations  on  the  history  of 
his  time,  and  intimations  with  regard  to  the  future.  Made  up  of  single 
essays.  Chronological  characteristics.  Occasions  upon  which  it  was 
written.  Complaints  of  the  worldliness  of  the  clergy.  Defence  against 
the  objection  that  the  vileness  of  the  clergy  and  monks  was  exposed  to 
the  people  by  works  in  the  vernacular  tongue.  Antichrist  has  long  since 
made  his  appearance.  His  definition  of  Antichrist  (type  of  the  secular- 
ized hierarchy.)  On  the  false  miracles  of  Antichrist.  Progress  of 
Christ's  and  Antichrist's  kingdom,  side  by  side.  On  the  sending  forth  of 
the  angels,  i.  e.  the  true  heralds  of  the  faith,  for  the  sitting  of  the  nations. 
Argues   against  the  expectation  that  Elias  would  reappear  in  person.  .  .     202 

Attacks  the  corruptions  of  the  church  in  detail.  Incipient  germs  of  reform 
in  his  work.  Opposed  to  the  rending  asunder  of  the  orderly-disposed 
union  of  parts  in  the  church.  The  haughty  self-exaltation  of  the  pope, 
the  bishops,  the  priests.  Traces  the  disobedience  of  the  people  towards 
their  clergy  to  the  licentiousness  and  carnal  sense  of  the  latter.  His 
view  of  the  nature  of  church  government  lying  at  the  ground  of  these 
remarks 204 

Against  overloading  the  church  with  human  ordinances  and  the  multiplica- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  laws.  On  burdening  the  conscience  by  the  same. 
On  the  contempt  thence  resulting  for  these  laws  and  at  the  same  time 
for  the  divine  commands.  Men  led  away  from  Christ  by  these  ordinan- 
ces. The  law  is  not  for  a  righteous  man.  Defends  himself  against  the 
reproach  of  despising  all  human  laws.     Predicts  the  cessation  of  ordi- 

.  nances.  Christ  the  sole  rule  for  all  things.  His  remarkable  exposition 
of  the  apostolical  ordinances  of  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem.  Necessity 
of  bringing  back  the  church  to  the  simple  apostolical  laws.  Monastic 
orders  might  be  dispensed  with 210 

Foundation  of  the  true  unity  of  the  church  in  the  immediate  reference  of 
the  religious  consciousness  to  Christ.  The  unity  thence  proceeding  as  op- 
posed to  the  differences  between  nations,  growing  out  of  sin.  What  con- 
stitutes the  worship  of  God  in  Christian  times.  Against  the  Phariseeism 
and  self-righteousness  of  his  time.  The  idea  of  the  church  as  the  com- 
munity of  the  elect.  Gives  prominence  to  the  universal  priesthood  of 
the  faithful.  Vigorously  disputes  the  supposed  opposition  betwen  spirit- 
uals and  seculars  (on  the  right  relation  of  priests  and  laymen.  How 
far  the  predicate  "  holy"  belongs  to  all  Christians.  On  the  degrees  of 
holiness.  On  the  pride  of  the  clergy  and  monks.)  Contends  against 
the  distinction  made  between  the  concilia  and  the  praecepta 217 

The  question  respecting  the  frequent  and  daily  communion  of  the  laity. 
Janow's  zeal  for  this,  and  by  implication  for  the  Lord's  Supper  under 
both  the  forms.  Janow's  special  essay  on  this  subject ;  on  the  motives 
and  arguments  of  the  opponents  of  daily  communion.  On  the  pious 
tendencies  of  the  female  sex.  The  spiritual  participation  of  Christ  being 
daily  permitted,  so  also  should  the  bodily  be  granted.     None  but  openly 

b* 


XV111  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

known  sinners  should  be  debarred  from  the  communion.  Comparison 
of  the  communication  of  Christ  in  the  holy  supper  with  the  milk  fur- 
nished to  the  child.  The  laity  often  more  worthy  of  the  communion 
than  the  clergy.  He  who  considers  himself  unworthy  of  the  communion 
is  really  worthy,  and  vice  versa.  The  holy  supper  the  highest  act  of 
worship.  On  the  slavish  fear  felt  by  nominal  Christians  with  regard  ta 
the  communion.  His  complaints  respecting  the  neglect  of  the  holy  sup- 
per. Against  the  perverted  application  of  the  1st  Corinth.  11:23. 
Against  the  notion  that  once  partaking  of  the  communion  is  sufficient. 
His  view  of  the  mutual  relation  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper.  The 
Lord's  supper  is  food  for  week  men  and  not  reserved  for  the  angels. 
Against  the  mock-penance  preparatory  to  communing  once  at  the  Easter 
festival.  His  answer  to  the  objection  drawn  from  the  example  of  the 
ancient  hermits.     Against  the  necessity  of  a  distinct  and  special  prepara- 

,  tion  for  the  communion.  Defends  those  laymen  who  longed  after  the 
daily  communion  against  the  charge  of  presumption.  Mode  in  which  the 
Lord's  supper  was  observed  in  the  time  of  the  apostles  and  one  thousand 
years  after  them.  Against  the  objection  that  the  spiritual  communion  is 
sufficient.  Against  the  objection  that  the  Lord's  supper  would  become  an 
every  day  affair  by  two  frequent  enjoyment  of  it.  The  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment a  sufficient  substitute  for  the  bodily,  only  in  case  the  longing  after 
the  latter  is  disappointed  without  any  fault  of  the  Christian.  The  vindica- 
tion of  the  right  of  laymen  to  partake  under  both  forms  everywhere  pre- 
supposed       231 

The  schism  in  the  church  traced  to  the  self-seeking  spirit  of  the  cardinals. 
The  church  in  its  essence  exalted  above  this  schism.  The  unity  of  the 
church  to  be  restored  only  by  subduing  the  self-seeking  spirit.  Party- 
spirit  in  the  church  a  fore-token  of  the  last  times.  Still,  Janow  considers 
the  right  to  be  chiefly  on  the  side  of  Urban  VI 232 

Opposition  between  the  party  in  favor  of  and  the  party  opposed  to  reform. 
Synod  of  Prague  of  the  year  1389.  Pretended  recantation  of  Janow  at 
this  synod.  His  later  attack  upon  it,  particularly  in  reference  to  the  wor- 
ship of  images  and  the  forbidding  of  daily  communion 235 

B.    John  Huss,  the  Bohemian  Reformer.     P.  239. 

John  Huss.  Born  in  Husinetz  on  the  6th  of  July,  1369.  Of  poor  pa- 
rents. Studies  at  Prague.  His  teacher  Stanislaus  of  Znaim.  In  1369, 
Magister.  Influence  of  Militz  and  Janow  upon  his  character.  In  1401, 
preacher  to  Bethlehem  chapel.  (Spirit  of  the  foundation-charter  of  this 
chapel.)  His  activity  as  a  preacher  and  curer  of  souls.  Character  of 
the  archbishop  Zbynek  of  Prague.  The  high  estimation  in  which  he 
held  Huss  at  the  beginning.  Places  him  on  the  committee  of  examina- 
tion into  the  subject  of  the  miraculous  blood  at  Wilsnack.  Tract  of 
Huss,  De  omni  sanguine  Christi  glorificato 239 

Inward  opposition  between  Huss  and  Zbynek.  Reformatory  tendency  of 
Huss  pointing  back  rather  to  Janow  than  to  Wicklif.  His  connection 
with  WicMifitism  of  importance  simply  on  account  of  the  consequences  at 
first  outwardly  resulting  from  it 241 

Connection  between  Oxford  and  Prague.  Wicklifs  influence,  especially 
in  a  philosophical  respect.  Early  acquaintance  of  Huss  with  Wicklif  s 
writings.  His  religious  and  philosophical  interest  in  them.  Wicklifs  at- 
tack upon  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  without  influence  upon 
Huss.     (Argument  against  the  opposite  view  of  Palacky.)     The  inter- 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  xix 

polated  Oxford  documents  in  testimony  of  Wicklif's  orthodoxy.  [The 
Antithesis  Christi  et  Antichristi.]  The  opposition  between  Realism  and 
Nominalism  as  a  matter  of  national  interest  between  Bohemians  and  Ger- 
mans. Merits  of  Huss  in  promoting  the  culture  of  the  Bohemian  lan- 
guage. The  Bohemian  theological  party :  Peter  of  Znaim,  Stanislaus  of 
Znaim,  (early  judgment  of  the  latter  respecting  Wicklif  and  his  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation.)      Paletz  and  Huss 245 

Influence  of  Jerome  of  Prague.  [Jerome  confounded  with  Nicholas  of 
Faulfisch.]  On  the  Wicklifite  movements  in  Prague.  His  zeal  for  sci- 
ence. [Thomas  of  Stitnag.]  Relations  of  Huss  with  Jerome.  Enthu- 
siasm of  the  latter  for  the  writings  of  Wicklif 246 

Convocation  of  the  University  on  the  28th  of  May,  1403.  Dispute  on  the 
forty-five  Wicklifite  propositions.  Condemnation  of  these  propositions  by 
the  preponderating  votes  of  the  Germans.  Slight  influence  exerted  by 
this  condemnation.  Bull  of  Innocent  VII,  A.D.  1405,  and  synodal  ordinance 
Zbynec,  A  D.  1406  against  the  Wicklifite  doctrines.  Law  of  the  latter 
to  secure  the  maintenance  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation.  Assem- 
bling of  the  Bohemian  members  of  the  University  in  the  year  1408,  and 
their  merely  conditional  condemnation  of  the  forty-five  propositions. 
Lectures  on  Wicklif's  Dialogus,  Trialogus  and  De  Eucharistia  for- 
bidden     248 

Good  understanding  preserved  thus  far  between  Zbynek  and  Huss.  The 
latter's  diocesan  discourse  in  the  year  1407.  Examination  before  the 
archbishop's  court  of  several  clergymen  accused  of  Wicklifitism,  particu- 
larly Nicholas  of  Welenowitz.  Huss  interposes  in  their  behalf  and  ad- 
dresses a  letter  full  of  reproaches  to  the  archbishop.  Stephen  of  Dolas' 
Antiwikleffus  of  the  year  1408,  evidencing  the  high  state  of  excitement 
between  the  Wicklifite  and  the  hierarchical  party 252 

Milder  procedure  of  Zbynek.  His  declaration  at  the  diocesan  synod  at 
Prague,  in  July,1408  that  Bohemia  was  free  from  Wicklifite  heresy.  .  .  .     252 

Royal  decree  respecting  the  relation  of  votes  of  the  different  nations  at  the 
Prague  University.  Emigration  of  the  Germans  from  Prague  in  Sep- 
tember, 1408 253 

Important  influence  of  this  emigration  on  the  progress  of  the  struggle  for 
reform  :  appearance  of  the  hitherto  concealed  differences  among  the  Bo- 
hemians. Spreading  abroad  of  injurious  reports  concerning  the  heresies 
of  the  party  of  Huss.  Injury  to  the  city  of  Prague.  Huss  and  Jerome 
considered  as  the  authors  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Germans . 255 

King  Wenceslaus  goes  over  from  the  party  of  Gregory  XII,  to  that  of  the 
council  of  Pisa.  Opposition  of  the  clergy.  The  clergy  attacked  by  the 
king.  Huss  in  favor  of  the  council  of  Pisa.  His  sermons  against  the 
corruption  of  the  clergy.  Reproaches  cast  upon  him  fcr  this  reason  and 
his  defence  of  himself    258 

Complaints  of  the  clergy  of  Prague,  against  Huss,  before  the  archbishop,  in 
the  year  1409.  The  Magister  Mauritius  commissioned  to  inquire  into 
them.  Complaints  of  Huss  against  Zbynek  and  citation  of  the  latter  to 
Rome      259 

Zbynek  espouses  the  cause  of  Alexander  V.  Alexander's  bull  of  Decem- 
ber, 1409  against  the  Wicklifite  heresies  and  preaching  in  private  chapels. 
Publication  of  the  same  in  March,  1410.  Wenceslaus's  anger  excited 
against  Zbynek.  Appeal  of  Huss  ad  Papum  melius  informandum. 
Zbynek  forbids  preaching  in  private  chapels,  and  resistance  of  Huss. 
Demands  the  delivering  up  of  Wicklifs  writings,  which  are  burned.  Vio- 
lent commotions  occasioned  thereby  in  Prague.     New  appeal  of  Huss  to 


XX  TABLE   OF   CONTEXTS. 

John  XXIII.     Writings  of  Huss  in  justification  of  his  disobedience  to 

Zbynek,  and  in  defence  of  several   doctrines  of  Wicklif  (De  Trinitate, 

De  decimis.     Defensio  articulorum  quorundam  Joannis  WiclefF 267 

Huss  prepared  to  suffer  martyrdom,  and  his  foreboding  of  it 268 

Misapprehended  doctrine  of  Huss  respecting  property 270 

His  tract  De  corpore  Christi  :  gives  prominence  to  the  practical  religious 
element,  holds  fast  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  but  disapproves 
the  too  crass   mode  of  expressing  it 271 

Citation  of  Huss  to  Bologna  by  Cardinal  Colonna.  Interposition  of  Wen- 
ceslaus  with  the  Pope  in  behalf  of  Huss.  Huss  excommunicated.  Trans- 
fer of  the  process  to  Cardinal  Zabarella.  Still  later  to  Cardinal  Brancas. 
Prague  put  under  interdict.  WenzePs  zeal  for  Huss  and  against  the 
clergy.     Zbynek  makes  advances  towards  a  compromise 273 

Appointment  of  a  commission  for  settling  terms  of  peace  in  July,  1411. 
Conditions  of  agreement  proposed.  Confession  of  faith  set  forth  by  Huss 
in  September,  1411.     Necessary  failure  of  this  merely  outward  compact.    274 

Zbynek's  letter  of  exculpation  addressed  to  the  king.  His  flight  and  his 
death 275 

The  new  archbishop  Albic.  Bull  of  crusade  and  indulgence  issued  by  John 
XXIII.  against  Ladislaus  of  Naples.  Huss  consulted  with  regard  to  it, 
and  his  declaration.  Indignation  at  the  beginning  professed  against  the 
bull  by  Paletz.  Change  of  opinion  by  him  and  Stanislaus  of  Znaim. 
Proposal  of  Paletz  in  the  name  of  the  theological  faculty 278 

Separation  of  Huss  from  Paletz.  Disputation  of  Huss  on  the  matter  of 
indulgences,  7th  of  June,  1411,  and  his  Quaestio  de  indulgentiis  thence 
originating.  (The  three  motives  which  induced  him  to  write  this 
tract :  Return  to  the  authority  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  Disapprobation 
of  the  bull  as  not  proceeding  from  love.  On  the  import  and  extent  of 
priestly  absolution.  That  it  is  not  permitted  to1  the  pope  and  clergy  to 
contend  for  secular  things.  Even  the  laity  ought  not  to  comply  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  bull.  Against  the  plenitude  of  power  claimed  by  the 
pope  to  bestow  indulgences.  On  the  hurtful  influence  of  the  latter.  On 
the  supreme  authority  of  Scripture.)  Fiery  discourse  of  Jerome  on  the 
occasion  of  this  disputation.  Burning  of  the  papal  bull.  Dissatisfaction 
of  Huss  with  the  passionate  heat  of  individuals  among  his  adherents.  .     287 

Royal  edict  against  all  public  resistance  to  the  papal  bulls.  Persevering 
activity  of  Huss  and  increasing  number  of  his  adherents 288 

Sentence  passed  on  the  three  artisans  at  Prague.  Interposition  of  Huss  in 
their  behalf,  and  the  promise  given  him.  Their  execution.  Solemn  con- 
veyance of  the  dead  bodies  to  Bethlehem  chapel.  Part  taken  by  Huss 
in  these  transactions 290 

Paletz  at  the  head  of  the  eight  doctors.  Formal  condemnation  of  the  forty- 
five  propositions  by  these  persons,  with  the  addition  of  six  other  proposi- 
tions. Succeed  in  procuring  a  royal  command  forbidding  the  preaching 
of  these  doctrines.  Reproof  of  the  faculty  by  the  king.  Their  justifica- 
tion of  themselves.  Readiness  of  Huss  to  answer  before  the  king's  privy 
council  on  condition  that  each  party  should  agree,  in  case  of  conviction, 
to    suffer   the  penalty   of  the  stake.     This   proposal    declined   by  the 

faculty.     Futile  admonition  of  the  privy-council 293 

Michael  de  Causis  at  Rome.  Transfer  of  the  cause  of  Huss  to  Cardinal 
Peter  de  St.  Angelo.  Bann  and  interdict  imposed  on  Huss  under  the 
most  fearful  formulas.  Huss  to  be  delivered  up,  and  Bethlehem  chapel 
to  be  destroyed  root  and  branch.  Unsuccessful  measures  of  violence 
resorted  to  by  the  opponents  of   Huss  at  the    consecration-festival    of 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XXI 

the  church  of  Prague.  Jesenic's  demonstration  of  the  illegality  of  the 
pope's  proceedings.  Huss  appeals  to  Christ.  Dangerous  disturbances 
at  Prague  in  consequence  of  the  interdict.  Huss  leaves  Prague.  Albic's 
resignation  of  his  office  at  the  close  of  1412.  Conrad  of  Vechta  his 
successor 295 

Resolution  by  the  college  of  the  elders  of  the  country  to  hold  a  country- 
synod  (at  Bbhmisch-Brod)  before  Christmas  of  1412.  Propositions  pre- 
sented by  the  two  parties,  and  their  entire  opposition  in  principle.  Sy- 
nods at  Prague  on  the  6th  of  Feb'y,  1413,  resulting  in  nothing.  (Huss  re- 
presented by  Jensenic.  Declaration  of  Jacobellus  of  Mies.)  Royal 
peace-commission.  Defeat  of  the  hierarchical  party.  The  king  once  more 
favors  the  party  of  Huss.  .    297 

Huss  at  Kozi-pradek.  Composes  his  work  De  ecclesia :  contrast  drawn  be- 
twixt the  clerus  Christi  and  the  clerus  Antichristi.  Reasons  for  his  non- 
appearance at  Rome.  Proof  of  the  unchristian  character  of  the  inter- 
dict. His  more  spiritual  conception  of  the  church.  The  church,  the 
universitas  praedestinatorum.  Distinction  of  the  church  vexe,  et  nuncu- 
pative. Uncertainty  respecting  predestination.  On  the  dispersion  of 
the  church  throughout  all  the  world,  in  opposition  to  Paletz.  Christ 
alone  the  all-sufficient  head  of  the  church.  On  the  dignity  of  the  pope 
and  cardinals.  Papacy  first  began  to  exist  after  the  time  of  Constantine. 
Against  the  holding  of  worldly  property  by  the  church.  Rejects  uncon- 
ditional obedience  to  the  pope  and  prelates  with  regard  to  matters  indif- 
ferent. On  the  Christian  people  who  were  beginning  to  be  enlightened. 
Huss  pained  in  contemplating  the  secularization  of  the  church.  Traces 
the  schism  to  this  as  the  cause.  Adopts  the  theory  of  different  TQonotg 
naidtlag.  Reverts  to  the  authority  of  scripture.  Erudition  of  Huss. 
The  four  principles  of  reformation  of  the  later  Hussite  party  expressed 
in  this  work 307 

Similar  opinions  contained  in  his  book  against  Stanislaus  of  Znaim  and 
in  his  letters  to  Prachatic :  against  the  misconstruction  of  his  lan- 
guage as  tending  to  a  revolutionary  spirit.  Against  the  necessity  of  a 
visible  head  of  the  church.  On  the  tendency  of  the  externalization  of 
the  church  to  promote  heresies.  Against  confounding  theology  and  phi- 
losophy. On  the  continuous  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  church  as 
the  sole  thing  necessary.  His  firm  determination  to  keep  steadfast  by 
the  truth.  On  the  comparatively  small  importance  of  being  called  a 
heretic 310 

Letters  written  by  Huss  from  his  place  of  exile,  particularly  to  Prachatic  : 
his  consolation  in  trouble.  His  exhortation  to  steadfastness.  His  pain 
and  scruples  of  conscience  at  being  separated  from  his  church.  His  let- 
ters to  the  same.  His  confident  expectation  that  the  truth  would  triumph. 
On  the  pretended  assaults  of  Antichrist.  Warning  against  fiekle-minded- 
ness.  Sympathy  with  the  cause  of  Huss  also  in  other  cities  of  Bohemia. 
His  letter  of  exhortation  to  the  parish-priests  at  Prachatic 316 

His  frequent  secret  visits  to  Prague.   Transfer  of  his  residence  to  Cracowic.    316 

Time  draws  near  for  holding  the  council  of  Constance.  Huss  invited  to  at- 
tend with  the  assurance  of  a  safe  conduct  from  the  emperor.  [Refuta- 
tion of  the  sophistical  interpretations  of  the  letter  of  safe  conduct.]  Huss 
resides  at  Prague  in  the  August  of  1414.  Examined  before  the  pope's 
inquisitor,  and  the  latter's  testimonial  of  this  examination.  Huss  writes  a 
letter  of  thanks  to  the  emperor  Sigismund.  Warned  by  his  friends  not 
to  put  confidence  in  the  emperor's  promises.  Farewell  letter  of  Huss  to 
his  community.     Leaves  Prague  on  the  11th  of  October  under  the  es- 


XX11  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

cort  of  the  knights  Chlum  and  Wenzel  of  Duba,  of  Mladenowic  and 
John  Cardinalis  of  Reinstein 320 

Journey  of  Huss  through  Germany.  His  favorable  reception.  The  Par- 
ish priest  of  Pernau.  Conversation  at  Nurenberg.  The  doctor  of  Bi- 
brach.       Transcript  of  the  ten  commandments 321 

Arrives  at  Constance  on  the  3d  of  November.  The  first  four  weeks.  Agi- 
tations excited  by  Michael  de  Causis,  Paletz,  and  Wenzel  Tiem.  Hate- 
ful proposition  of  Michael.  Suspension  of  the  interdict.  Attempt  to 
separate  the  cause  of  Huss  from  all  public  transactions.  Huss  demands 
an  open  trial  before  the  council 323 

Huss  proceeds  to  prepare  himself  to  appear  before  the  council.  De  fidei 
suae  elucidatione  [the  agreement  of  his  views  with  the  faith  of  the 
church.]  Defends  himself  against  the  charge  of  contending  against  saint- 
worship),  De  pace  (peace  with  God  the  foundation  of  peace  with  one's 
neighbor.)  De  suflicientia  legis  Christi  ad  regendam  ecclesiam.  (Protest 
against  the  charge  of  obstinacy.  On  the  validity  even  of  human  laws, 
and  particularly  of  the  jus  canonicum) 326 

Occasion  of  the  seizure  and  imprisonment  of  Huss  on  the  28th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1414.  [On  the  report  that  Huss  attempted  flight.]  Chlum's  repeated 
protest  against  this  procedure.  Reproaches  uttered  by  him  before  the 
pope,  and  the  latter's  exculpation  of  himself.  Huss  committed  to  prison 
in  the  cells  of  a  Dominican  convent  on  the  6th  of  December 328 

Chlum's  declaration  in  the  name  of  the  emperor  on  the  24th  of  December. 
Sigismund's  behavior  in  this  matter.  Deputation  of  the  council  on  the 
1st  of  January,  1415,  protesting  against  his  interference  in  matters  re- 
lating to  faith.  Sigismund's  later  vindication  of  himself  to  the  Bohemian 
estates 330 

Committee  appointed  to  examine  Huss,  1st  December,  1414.  He  is  not  al- 
lowed to  have  an  attorney.  Sickness  of  Huss.  Kind  treatment  expe- 
rienced from  his  keepers.  His  letters  intercepted.  Paletz's  conduct 
towards  the  prisoner.  Temper  exhibited  by  Huss  while  in  prison.  His 
dream  about  the  pictures  of  Christ  in  Bethlehem  chapel.  Huss  declines 
a  private  arrangement  of  his  case,  and  demands  to  be  heard  publicly  be- 
fore the  council.  Hopes  at  the  beginning  to  be  aided  by  the  emperor. 
His  anxious  regard  for  his  friends.  His  minor  doctrinal  and  ethical 
tracts  composed  in  prison.  (On  the  citations  contained  in  them.  His 
views  respecting  the  law  of  the  Sabbath.  Spiritual  conception  of  bless- 
edness. The  four  principal  mysteries  of  Christian  faith.  Express  con- 
fession of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation.     His  view  of  John  vi 337 

Jacobellus  of  Prague  comes  out  against  the  withdrawal  of  the  cup.  Fable 
about  the  Waldensian  Peter  of  Dresden.)  Huss  consulted  with  regard 
to  this  matter.     His  frank  declaration 339 

Flight  of  John  XXIII,  and  view  taken  of  it  by  Huss.  Embarrassments 
thence  arising.  Huss  conveyed  to  Gottleben.  His  situation  worse  than 
before,  and  he  falls  sick  again.  His  fortitude  in  suffering.  Appointment 
of  a  new  committee  of  investigation  on  the  6th  of  April,  1415.  Stronger 
complaints  against  Huss.  Interposition  of  the  Bohemian  Knights  in  be- 
half of  Huss,  united  with  indirect  complaints  against  bishop  John  of 
LeitomysL  The  latter's  defence  of  himself.  Promise  given  of  transfer- 
ring Huss  to  another  prison  in  Constance,  and  of  a  public  hearing  on  the 
5th  of  June.     Little  confidence  placed  by  Huss  in  these  promises 342 

Huss  conveyed  to  the  Franciscan  convent,  in  Constance,  at  the  beginning 
of  June.  His  first  hearing  on  the  5th  of  June.  Interposition  of  the 
emperor  to  prevent  his  condemnation  instanter  on  the  ground  of  extracts 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  XXU1 

made  from  his  writings.  His  writings  laid  before  the  council.  Session 
broken  up  on  account  of  the  wild  outcries  against  him.  Courage  ex- 
hibited by  Huss  in  his  trial  of  the  6th  of  June.  Second  hearing  on  the 
7th  of  June,  in  presence  of  the  emperor.  Accused  of  denying  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation.  His  defence  of  himself  especially  against 
d'Ailly  and  Zabarella.  Accused  of  holding  Wicklifite  doctrines.  Of 
promoting  insurrection  among  the  people.  Of  creating  a  schism  be- 
twixt the  spiritual  and  the  secular  power.  Political  suspicions  excited 
against  Huss  by  D'Ailly.  Chlum  puts  in  a  word  in  his  defence.  Invita- 
tion to  Huss  by  D'Ailly  and  the  emperor  that  he  should  Submit  to  the 
sentence  of  the  council.  Huss  defends  himself  against  the  charge  of  ob- 
stinacy. His  letters  concerning  this  hearing.  He  demands  a  hearing 
in  which  he  can  answer  freely    349 

Third  hearing  on  the  8th  of  June.  A  series  of  articles  of  complaint  laid  be- 
fore the  council,  taken  mostly  from  his  work  De  ecclesia.  The  fifth 
article,  relating  to  his  doctrine  of  predestination.  The  twelfth  article, 
relating  to  the  derivation  of  the  papal  dignity.  The  twenty-second  article, 
relating  to  intentio.  The  article  that  a  person  in  the  condition  of  mortal 
sin  could  not  be  pope,  king,  etc.  (Impression  made  on  the  emperor.) 
D'Ailly's  political  suspicions.  Disputation  with  Paletz.)  On  the  forty- 
five  propositions  of  Wicklif.  The  article  on  the  necessity  of  a  visible 
head  of  the  church.  Gerson's  articles  against  Huss.  [Whence  the.  pecu- 
liar indignation  of  Huss  towards  Gerson  ?]  D'Ailly's  exhortation  ad- 
vising him  to  submit  to  the  opinion  of  the  council.  Readiness  of  Huss  to 
allow  himself  to  be  taught.  The  emperor  admonishes  him  to  abjure.  Za- 
berella's  promise  of  a  mild  form  of  abjuration.  The  emperor's  repeated 
admonition  that  he  should  submit  to  the  council.  Fanatical  opinions  ex- 
pressed by  some  of  the  prelates.  Wonderful  presence  of  mind  and  power 
of  faith  exhibited  by  Huss  in  this  trial.  Shameless  asseverations  of  Pa- 
letz and  Michael  de  Causis.  Party  prejudice  of  D'Ailly  in  favor  of  Pa- 
letz.    Chlum's  cordial  embrace 356 

Proposition  of  the  emperor  to  the  council  after  this  hearing.  Eventual 
resolution  of  the  council  in  case  that  Huss  should  recant    357 

Expectation  of  Huss  to  suffer  martyrdom.  His  letter  to  Bohemia  on  the 
10th  of  June.  New  hopes  spring  up  in  the  mind  of  Huss.  His  intense 
longing  after  a  hearing  where  he  might  be  allowed  to  express  himself 
freely.      His  warning  against  putting  confidence  in  princes 360 

Remarkable  interviews  of  Huss  with  an  unknown  individual  proposing  terms 
of  recantation.  Who  and  what  he  was.  [Earlier  erroneous  opinions  on 
this  point.]  The  form  of  recantation  proposed  by  this  unknown  person. 
Huss  replies  with  thanks,  declining  the  proposal.  Persevering  pains  of 
the  unknown  to  convince  Huss,  and  his  answers  to  the  latter's  reasons. 
Huss  again  declines . 362 

Various  attempts  made  to  induce  Huss  to  recant.  Visit  made  to  him  by 
Paletz 363 

Impression  produced  on  Huss  by  the  imprisonment  and  deposition  of  John 
XXIII  :  sentiments  uttered  by  him  on  this  subject.  His  resolution  not 
to  allow  himself  to  be  frightened  by  the  council.  His  prophetic  dreams. 
Huss  a  genuine  Christian  martyr  :  his  noble  letter  of  the  23d  of  June. 
His  confession  of  himself.  His  grief  at  the  divisions  among  the  Bo- 
hemian people.      His  apology  to  Paletz 366 

Delicate  concern  shown  by  Huss  for  his  surviving  friends.  His  joy  at  the 
determination  expressed  by  Chlum  and  Wenzel  of  Duba  to  retire  from 
the  world.     His  letters  of  exhortation  addressed  to  Christiann  ot  Pracha- 


XXIV  TABLE    OF    CONTEXTS. 

tic.  His  last  salutations  and  commissions  to  the  people  of  Prague  on  the 
fourth  of  July    367 

Official  deputation  of  the  council  on  the  1st  of  July.  Deputation  on  the 
part  of  the  emperor.  Chlum's  address.  Moving  reply  of  Huss.  The 
bitter  words  of  a  bishop 368 

Degradation  of  Hu  s,  and  his  execution  on  the  6th  of  July.  Introductory 
discourse.  Huss  attempts  to  answer  for  himself.  Receives  strength  in 
prayer.  Puts  on  the  priestly  vestments.  Once  more  challenged  to  re- 
cant. Deprived  one  by  one  of  the  vestments.  Mocked  and  cursed. 
Delivered  up  for  execution  to  Louis  of  Bavaria.  His  address  to  passers 
by.  His  prayer  on  the  place  of  execution.  Impression  made  by  it  on 
the  laity  who  were  present.  Takes  leave  of  his  keepers.  Final  chal- 
lenge to  recant  by  the  marshal  of  the  empire.  His  fiery  death.  The 
scattering  of  his  ashes 371 

Jerome  of  Prague.  His  residence  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  at  Paris,  and 
at  Heidelberg.  Examination  of  him  at  Paris.  His  arrest'by  the  official 
at  Vienna  and  his  escape  by  flight.  His  letter  addressed  to  the  official 
written  from  Wiekow.  His  intended  vindication  of  himself  at  Con- 
stance. His  residence  at  Ofen  in  the  year  1410.  His  arrest  and  libera- 
tion. His  residence  in  Poland  and  Lithuania,  particularly  in  Cracow. 
At  Constance  accused  of  being  inclined  to  favor  the  Greek  church.  His 
vindication  of  himself  in  this  regard.  His  secret  visit  to  Constance 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1415.  His  letter  from  Uberlingen.  Notice  posted 
up  by  him  at  Constance.  Sets  out  to  return  to  Bohemia.  Arrested  near 
Hirschan.  Brought  before  the  council  on  the  23d  of  May,  1415.  His 
harsh  imprisonment.  Letter  interposing  in  his  behalf  drawn  up  by  the 
Bohemian  knights  on  the  2d  of  September.  Jerome's  public  recantation 
on  the  23d  of  September.  His  continued  imprisonment.  Appointment 
of  a  new  commission 377 

His  two  hearings,  on  the  23d  and  26th  of  May,  1416.  His  eloquence  and 
presence  of  mind.  He  takes  back  his  former  recantation.  Allowed  a 
respite  of  forty  days.  Description  by  Poggio  of  the  impression  pro- 
duced by  Jerome's  speech 379 

Sentence  passed  and  executed  on  Jerome  on  the  30th  of  May.  His  con- 
stancy as  a  martyr.     Description  of  his  martyrdom  by  Poggio 380 


3.   The  Friends  of  God  in  Germany.     P.  380 — 412. 

On  the  friends  of  God  in  general.  Religious  commotions  in  Germany  ever 
since  the  end  of  the  13th  century,  called  forth  especially  by  spiritual 
and  bodily  distress.  Profound  feeling  characteristic  of  the  German 
people.  Connected  mystical  societies,  particularly  in  south-west  Ger- 
many. The  name  Friends  of  God.  Their  relation  to  the  scholastic 
theology.  The  spiritual  leaders  of  the  laity  from  the  number  of  the 
Friends  of  God  compared  with  the  common  ecclesiastics.  Letter  of 
the  Friends  of  God  in  Strassburg  to  the  collective  body  of  the  clergy  by 
occasion  of  the  pope's  interdict.  The  Friends  of  God  hold  fast  to  the 
standing  ecclesiastical  order.  Conscientiously  fulfilled  all  the  appointed 
exercises  of  religion,  at  the  same  time  that  they  warned  men  against  the 
externalization  of  religion  and  all  imagined  meritoriousness  of  good 
works 386 

Various  kinds  of  hostility  to  the  Friends  of  God.  Their  spiritual  leaders. 
Complete  submission  to  them.     Rulmann  Merswin.     His  course  of  life. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS.  XXV 

His  book  on  the  nine  rocks.     His  unchurchly  tenets 389 

Nicholas  of  Basle.  Tauler's  Friend  of  God.  A  Waldensian,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  mystic.  His4  influential  and  prudent  activity.  Spread  of 
German  writings  among  the  laity.  His  return  to  Holy  Scripture  and  to 
the  Holy  Spirit.  His  defence  of  the  Apostle  Paul  against  the  reproach 
of  vain  glory.     He  is  burnt  at  Vienne 392 

Contemporaneous  wildly  extravagant,  pantheistic  mysticism.  Strong 
contrast  betwixt  the  theistic  and  pantheistic  Friends  of  God.  At  the 
same  time  many  points  of  transition  between  the  two.  Master  Echart, 
provincial  of  the  Dominican  order  for  Saxony.  His  pantheistic  utter- 
ances on  the  being  of  God.  The  Logos.  True  righteousness,  etc. 
Condemnation  of  twenty-six  propositions  of  Echart.  His  submission. 
Bull  of  John  XXII,  in  the  year  1329,  against  the  holding  forth  of  such 
doctrines  before  the  laity 396 

The  pantheistic,  quictistie  notions  and  the  mistaken  strivings  after  freedom 
attacked  by  Ruysbroch  and  Tauler.  John  Ruysbroch  of  Brussels.  His 
contest  with  a  wiie  belonging  to  the  sect  of  the  Free  Spirit.  Coun- 
sellor to  many 401 

His  writings  an  evidence  of  his  practical  activity.  His  efforts  against  the 
spread  of  infidelity.  Only  a  seeming  inclination  of  isolated  expressions 
in  his  writings  to  pantheism.  He  holds  fast  to  God  revealed  in  Christ. 
Condemns  a?  well  against  the  one-sided,  contemplative  bent  as  against  the 
externalization  of  the  church-tendency.  Gives  prominence  to  the  will 
as  a  lever  to  the  higher  life.  Opposed  to  excessive  indulgence  of  the 
feelings.     Mental  trials  as  an  exercise  of  self-denial 407 

John  Tauler.  Born  in  Strassburg,  1290.  In  1308,  a  Dominican.  Studies  at 
Paris.     Labors  on  the  Rhine.     Dies  in  1361 407 

Contends  against  the  inclination  to  run  into  externals.  Against  the  reliance 
on  saints  or  angels.  Exercise  in  external  things  a  preparatory  school  to 
spiritual  experience.  On  the  uniting  of  practical  with  contemplative 
habits.  Warns  against  an  excessive  indulgence  of  mere  feelings  and 
against  excessive  self-reflection ;-on the  right  method  of  using  and  over- 
coining  temptations 411 

Henry  Suso  of  Suabia.  Dominican.  Born  in  1300,  died  1365.  His 
writings.  Christ  the  way  to  God.  The  practical  following  of  the  exam- 
ple of  Chrisl  better  than  excitements  of  feeling.  Patience  in  suffering 
better  than  miracles      .    412 

The  processions  of  the  self-cast igators  or  Flagellants.     Their  origin  in  Italy 

bj     occasion    of  the    i-outcsts    between    the    Guelphs   and    Ghibellines. 

S  iread  of  the  sane  in  o  Germany  during  the  desolations  of  the  black 

i    ie.      Inhibition   ol     the   same  by  Clement  VI.     Heretical  tendency 

:  hing  itself  to  the   .      The  Crueifrates 412 

<  il  Index.  , 413 

C 


CHURCH  HISTORY, 


SIXTH  PERIOD.    FROM  BONIFACE  VIII.  TO    THE  COMMENCEMENT 
OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  1517. 


SECTION   FIRST.    ■ 

HISTORY  OF  THE  PAPACY,  AND  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

The  period  of  Church  History  which  we  now  propose  to  consider, 
is  one  where  an  old  creation  of  Christianity,  showing  signs  of  decay 
and  an  ever  increasing  tendency  to  corruption,  is  passing  over  to  the 
new  one  which  was  destined  to  succeed  it.  The  peculiarity  of  such 
a  period  of  transition,  conducting  from  the  dissolution  of  an  old,  to 
the  dawning  life  of  a  new  world,  is,  that  on  the  one  hand,  we  see  all 
the  corruptions  that  had  so  long  been  preparing,  finally  reach  their 
highest  point,  and  on  the  other,  occasioned  and  urged  forward  by  those 
very  corruptions,  the  reaction  of  new  tendencies  of  the  Christian  spirit, 
betokening  new  and  better  times.  The  stirrings  of  a  new  spirit,  man- 
ifesting itself  with  fresh  and  ever  increasing  vigor  in  its  struggles  with 
the  old,  and  the  multiform  combinations  in  which  new  and  old  appear 
commingled,  form  the  significant  feature  of  this  period.  Such  periods 
of  transition  are  of  peculiar  interest,  because  we  see  in  them  the  first 
unfolding  of  those  germs  in  which  the  future  lies  hidden.  These  re- 
marks apply  in  a  particular  manner  to  that  portion  of  the  history  of 
the  papacy  which  we  propose,  first  of  all,  to  consider.  The  power  of 
the  papacy,  having  its  seat  in  the  affections  of  men,  and  resting  on 
their  most  profound  convictions,  could  not  be  overthrown  by  any  force 
coming  from  without.  Every  struggle,  as  we  have  seen,  in  which  it 
was  aimed  to  effect  this  overthrow,  resulted  eventually  in  a  failure,  so 
long  as  this  power  in  the  mind  of  the  nations  was  a  necessary  one  in 
the  historical  progress  of  the  church.  But  this  power  must  prepare 
the  way  for  its  own  destruction  by  its  increasing  worldliness,  and  dese- 
cration to  subserve  selfish  ends  ;  and  thus  were  called  forth,  in  ever 
increasing  force,  the  reactions  of  the  Christian  spirit  struggling  for 
freedom,  and  attempts  at  reform  constantly  growing  more  violent.  Such 

vol.  v.  1 


•J,  BONIFACE  VIII. 

a  state  of  things  we  shall  see  developing  itself  more  and  more  distinctly 
from  the  time  of  Boniface  VIII.  and  onward. '  This  pope,  a  man 
without  any  pretensions  to  spiritual  character,  or  even  moral  worth, 
carried  papal  absolutism  to  the  highest  pitch  it  ever  reached  ;  and  he 
was  forced  to  see  himself  reduced  to  the  most  severe  humiliations  ;  nor 
can  we  fail  to  recognize  the  guiding  hand  of  a  higher  wisdom,  when 
we  observe  how  the  humiliations  to  which  he  was  reduced  contributed, 
by  the  eonsecpiences  that  followed,  to  bring  on  that  whole  train  of  suc- 
ceeding contests  which  made  the  existing  church-system  of  the  medi- 
eval theocracy  totter  to  its  foundation.  We  shall  here  be  able  to  trace 
the  connection  of  one  link  with  another  in  the  chain  of  these  great 
events,  down  to  the  time  of  the  general  councils. 

Cardinal  Benedict  Cajetan,  a  man  supremely  governed  by  consider- 
ations of  worldly  interest,  after  having  by  crafty  management,  pro- 
cured the  abdication  of  his  predecessor  Celestin,  whose  temper 
presented  the  strongest  contrast  to  his  own,  succeeded  next,  by  the 
same  arts,  in  reaching  the  consummation  of  all  his  wishes  and  designs, 
the  papal  chair ;  and  his  whole  administration  was  of  a  piece  with 
such  a  beginning.  His  suspicions  compelled  him  to  keep  his  prede- 
cessor closely  confined ;  for  he  was  afraid  that  Celestin  might  be  per- 
suaded to  reassert  his  claims  to  the  papal  dignity  ;  and  was  certain 
that  if  he  did  so,  he  would  be  backed  up  by  a  party  of  malcontents 
who  had  always  denied  the  lawfulness  of  his  abdication,  since  they 
maintained  that  he  who  held  the  highest  station  on  earth,  the  pope, 
could  never,  either  by  his  own  act  or  that  of  others,  be  discharged 
from  the  responsibility  winch  God  had  laid  on  him.  Constant  additions 
would  naturally  be  made  to  this  party,  in  consequence  of  the  manner 
in  which  Boniface  administered  the  papacy,  and  they  would  welcome 
any  opportunity  of  securing  for  themselves  such  a  rallying  point.  The 
anxiety  of  Boniface  was  assuredly,  therefore,  not  without  foundation. 
Celestin,  however,  bore  his  confinement  and  the  dishonorable  treatment 
to  which  he  was  subjected,  with  calm  resignation  ;  and  in  this  confine- 
ment he  met  his  end  in  a  manner  worthy  of  his  pious  life.  A  report, 
which,  if  not  true,  shows  at  least  in  what  light  Boniface  was  regarded 
by  his  contemporaries,  charges  him  with  the  crime  of  taking  off  Celes- 
tin by  poison. 

Boniface  manifested  from  the  beginning,  that  the  motives  by  which 
he  was  supremely  governed,  were  ambition,  avarice  and  revenge.  Con- 
scientious scruples  never  deterred  him  from  resorting  i  any  means 
whereby  something  more  could  be  added  to  his  treasures.1     The  pope's 

1  A  contemporary,  John  Villain,  the  It  was  allowable  to  do  anything  to  ad- 
Florentine  historian,  says  of  him  that  he  ranee  the  interests  of  the  church.  The 
knew  how  to  maintain"  and  promote  the  same  writer  remarks- that  he  was  a  man 
interests  of  the  church.  (Seppe  bene  man-  of  lofty  spirit,  (molto  magnanimo,)  and 
tenere  e  avanzare  le  ragioni  della  chiesa.)  understood  well  how  to  play  the  lord  (e 
But  what  interests?  He  explains  by  say-  signorile,  lib.  8,  cap.  6) ;  and  he  says  that 
ing  the  pope  accumulated  avast  amount  he  was  much  given  to  worldly  pomp,  which 
of  money  for  the  purpose  of  aggrandizing  became  his  high  station  (vago  fu  molto 
the  church,  and  ennobling  his  family,  hav-  della  pompamondana  sccondo  suo  stato — 
ing  no  scruples  about  the  means  (iion  fa-  lib.  8,  cap.  64;  cfr.  Muratori  script,  rer. 
cendo  couscienza  di  guadagno),  for  he  said,  italic,  torn.  XIII.) 


PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION.  3 

plenitude  of  power,  the  interest  of  the  church,  must  serve  to  palliate 
the  worst  oppressions.  He  sowed  the  seeds  of  a  great  deal  of  corrup- 
tion, too,  in  the  next  succeeding  times,  by  elevating,  without  the  least 
regard  to  the  good  of  the  church,  his  own  kinsmen  to  the  rank  of 
cardinals,  or  to  the  higher  spiritual  dignities.  One  bad  means  to 
which  he  resorted  to  replenish  his  treasury,  was  taking  advantage  of 
the  great,  festival  connected  with  the  ushering  in  of  the  fourteenth 
century  :  whether  the  fact  was,  that  the  pope's  cupidity  merely  avail- 
ed itself  of  an  occurrence  which  would  have  taken  place  without  his 
seeking,"  or  whether  the  whole  thing  was  purely  a  contrivance  of  his 
own.  As  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  drew  near,  a  report  was 
circulated  through  Rome,  that  all  persons  visiting  the  church  of  St. 
Peter  in  that  city  on  the  first  day  of  January,  should  obtain  an  ex- 
traordinary indulgence.  Moved  by  this  report,  multitudes  flocked  to 
the  church  towards  evening,  filling  it  to  overflowing,  so  that  it  was 
nearly  impossible  to  press  through  the  crowd  to  the  altar.  This  move- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  people  was  regarded  as  something  divine  ;  or, 
if  it  took  place  naturally,  still  inasmuch  as  it  had  occurred,  it  was  de- 
termined to  make  the  best  of  it.  The  stories  of  a  man  over  a  hundred 
years  old,  who  related  what  had  been  done  at  the  beginning  of  the  pre- 
ceding century,  added  to  the  impression.  Thereupon  the  pope  put  forth 
a  bull,  granting  the  fullest  indulgence  to  all  Romans  who  for  thirty 
days,  and  to  all  strangers  who  for  fifteen  days,  in  this  year,  reckoning 
from  the  Easter  festival,  should  devoutly  visit  the  churches  of  St. 
Peter  and  of  St.  Paul  in  Rome  ;  on  the  condition,  however,  carefully 
specified,  that  they  truly  repented  and  confessed  their  sins.1  The  ex- 
pression used  in  the  bull  was,  "  the  fullest  forgiveness  of  sins,"  a 
promise  which,  thus  vaguely  expressed,  was  directly  calculated  to  in- 
spire many  with  a  greater  feeling  of  security  in  sin,  as  well  as  to 
encourage  the  abuse  of  indulgences.  Attracted  by  this  bull,  vast 
multitudes  of  men  and  women,  of  all  ages,  from  districts  far  and  near, 
flocked  together  in  Rome.  In  addition  to  the  rest,  the  exhibition  of 
the  pretended  handkerchief  of  St.  Veronica  was  employed  as  a  pow- 
erful means  of  excitement.  Two  hundred  thousand  pilgrims  a  day 
are  said  to  have  assembled  together  in  Rome  —  a  source  of  great 
gain  to  the  church,  as  well  as  of  wealth  to  the  Romans. 

The  unspiritual  temper  of  this  pope  showed  itself  in  the  implacable 
.  hatred  with  which  he  persecuted  his  enemies.  Thus  he  could  not  fail 
to  place  himself  in  the  most  unfavorable  light  to  his  contemporaries  ; 
while  by  other  acts  into  which  he  allowed  his  passions  to  hurry  him, 
he  contributed  to  provoke  the  storms  by  which  his  reign  was  disturb- 
ed. When  a  cardinal,  he.  was  zealously  devoted  to  the  Ghibelline 
party  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  become  pope,  than  he  turned  into  a 
tierce  partisan  of  the  Guelphs  :  and  the  wrath  which  he  harbored 
against  the  former  party  exceeded  all  bounds.  The  following  instance 
ma     lie  cited  in  illustration  of  his  passionate  spirit,  which  could  pro- 

1  Tho  words  of  the   bull;   Non  solum     rum  coneedimus  veniam  peccatorum. 
plenam  et  largiorem,  imo  plcuissimam  suo- 


4  BQNIFACE    VIII.    AND   THE   COLONNAS. 

fanely  dreak  forth  on  the  most  sacred  occasions.  We  are  told  that 
on  one  occasion  when  sprinkling  ashes,  according  to  the  usage  on  Ash- 
Wednesday,  over  the  head  of  an  archbishop  of  Genoa,  belonging 
to  the  Ghibellines,  instead  of  reciting  the  words  of  the  Psalm  :  "  Me 
mento  quia  cinis  es  et  in  cinerem  reverteris,"  he  travestied  them,  and 
said  :  "  Quia  Ghibellinus  es,  cum  Ghibellinis  in  cinerem  reverteris." 
Of  a  pope  who  could  descend  to  such  trifling,  it  is  not  .difficult  to 
account  for  the  report  which  got  abroad,  and  which  was  afterwards 
used  against  him,  that  his  professions  of  reverence  for  the  things  of 
faith  were  wholly  without  sincerity. 

At  the  head  of  his  eaemies  stood  the  widely-branched  and  powerful 
family  of  the  Colonnas,  to  which  two  cardinals  belonged.  These  had 
opposed  Boniface's  election,  and  he  therefore  hated  them.  He  gladly 
seized  upon  an  opportunity  that  soon  offered  itself,  to  strike  a  blow  at 
the  whole  family.  A  knight  connected  with  it  had  attacked  and 
plundered  a  convoy  of  the  papal  treasure  on  its  way  to  Rome.  He 
took  this  occasion  to  put  forth,  in  the  year  1297,  against  the  entire 
family,  a  terrible  bull,  recounting  all  their  sins,  from  distant  genera- 
tions to  the  present,  deposing  them  from  all  their  spiritual  and  secular 
offices,  and  pronouncing  them  under  the  ban.  Their  castles  in  Rome 
were  demolished ;  their  estates  confiscated.  This  step  was  attended 
with  very  important  consequences.  The  two  cardinals  of  the  family, 
who  did  not  recognize  the  validity  of  the  act  by  which  they  were 
deposed,  published  a  protest1  against  Boniface  and  his  proceedings. 
In  this  they  endeavored  to  prove  that  he  was  not  to  be  considered  as 
the  lawful  pope ;  for  the  pope,  being  a  vicar  of  Christ,  could  not  be 
deprived  of  his  office  by  any  one  but  God.  Celestin  was  still,  there- 
fore, the  only  lawful  pope,  whose  place  could  not  rightly  be  filled  by 
the  substitution  of  another  individual.  But  even  supposing  an  abdica- 
tion of  this  sort,  made  by  a  pope,  were  ever  valid ;  it  was  not  so 
in  the  case  of  Celestin,  because  it  had  been  brought  about  by  cunning 
and_  fraudulent  management  on  the  part  of  Boniface.3 '  They  appealed 
to  a  general  council,  to  be  convened  for  the  purpose  of  settling  this 
dispute,  which  so  nearly  concerned  the  well-being  of  the  whole  church. 
Thus  we  see,  first  called  forth  by  the  wicked  acts  of  this  pope,  an 
appeal  to  the  higher  tribunal  of  a  general  council,  assembled  to  pass 
judgment  on  the  pope  ;  —  an  appeal,  which,  for  the  present  indeed, 
met  with  no  response,  —  but  is  still  worthy  of  notice,  as  the  first 
impulse  towards  calling  into  action  a  power  in  the  church,  which 
afterwards  obtained  an  ascendency  so  great,  and  so  dangerous  to 
papal  absolutism.  At  this  time,  the  regularity  of  Boniface's  election 
was  defended  against  the  objections  of  the  Colonnas  by  other  persons 
in  the  service  of  the  Roman  court.  Controversy  with  the  pen  was 
followed  up  by  a  bloody  contest  between  the  two  parties.     The  pope 

1  Printed  in  the  Appendix  to  Raynal-  menta  et  tales  et  talia  intervenisse  multi- 
di  Annates,  year  1297,  No.  34.  pliciter  asseruntur.  quod  esto,  qnod  posset 

2  The  noticeable  words  are:  qnod  in  fieri  renuntiatio,  de  quo  merito  dubitatur, 
rennntiatione  ipsius  multae  fraudes  et  doli,  ipsam  vitiarent  et  reddereut  illegitimam, 
conditiones  et  intendimenta  et  machina-  inefficacem  et  nullani. 


PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION.  5 

used  his  spiritual  power  to  gratify  his  personal  animosities.  He  pro- 
claimed a  crusade  against  the  Colonnas  ;  and  to  take  part  in  a  war  of 
revenge  was  made  a  condition  of  the  pardon  of  sins.  The  Colonnas 
were  compelled  to  yield  to  superior  force.  In  the  year  1298,  they 
threw  themselves  at  the  pope's  feet.  He  promised  them  forgiveness, 
and  bestowed  upon  them  absolution.  But  they  found  afterwards  that 
they  had  been  deceived  by  him.  They  again  rebelled  ;  and  the  pope 
renewed  his  sentence  of  excommunication.  To  secure  safety  to  then- 
persons,  they  fled  from  Italy.  Several  of  their  number  betook  them- 
selves to  France,  where  the  pride  of  the  pope  soon  gave  them  ample 
opportunity  for  revenge. 

In  King  Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  the  pope  found  an  antagonist 
quite  his  equal  in  avarice  and  ambition,  and  in  that  unflinching  policy 
which  never  blushed  at  a  crime,  though  in  pursuit  of  opposite  inter- 
ests. When  this  king  demanded  that  the  spiritual  order  should  in 
common  with  all  other  classes,  contribute  money  towards  defraying 
the  expenses  of  his  wars,  Boniface,  who  looked  upon  this  as  an  en- 
croachment on  the  liberties  of  the  church,  was  induced,  in  the  year 
1296,  to  put  forth  a  bull,  known  from  its  commencing  words  by  the 
title,  "  Clericis  laicos,"  and  aimed  against  King  Philip,  though  his 
name  is  not  mentioned.  In  this  bull,  all  princes  and  nobles  were 
pronounced  under  ban,  who  demanded  tribute,  under  any  form,  from 
the  church  and  the  clergy ;  and  all  who  paid  such  tribute  were  in- 
volved in  the  same  condemnation  and  penalty.  Against  this  bull  the 
king  put  forth  a  declaration,  remarkable  as  containing  the  evidence  of 
a  more  liberal  spirit,  in  opposition  to  the  Medieval  Theocracy,  a  spirit 
which  had  never,  indeed,  ceased  to  propagate  itself  in  opposition  to 
papal  absolutism,  and  which  was  constantly  emerging  to  the  light  when- 
ever a  favorable  occasion  presented  itself;  but  the  language  we  now 
hear  employed  partakes  of  a  bold  freedom,  such  as  had  not  been  heard 
for  a  long  time.  The  church,  it  was  said,  does  not  consist  of  the  clergy 
alone,  but  also  of  laymen.  The  liberty  which  Christ  achieved  for  the 
faithful,  freedom  from  the  dominion  of  sin  and  of  Satan,  and  from  the 
yoke  of  the  law,  belongs  not  to  the  clergy  alone,  but  also  to  the  laity. 
Has  Christ  died  and  risen  again  solely  for  the  clergy  ?  God  forbid. 
Is  there  such  respect  for  persons  with  God,  as  that  the  clergy  alone 
are  to  obtain  grace  in  this  life  and  glory  in  the  life  to  come  ?  No. 
To  all  alike  who  by  faith  and  love  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  goodness 
has  he  promised  the  reward  of  eternal  felicity ;  and  the  clergy,  there- 
fore, have  no  title  to  appropriate  exclusively  to  themselves  the  ecclesi- 
astical freedom  that  belongs  to  all,  understanding  thereby  the  freedom 
obtained  for  us  by  the  grace  of  Christ.  But  from  this  universal  free- 
dom, are  to  be  distinguished  the  special  liberties  which  by  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  popes,  the  favor,  or  at  least  the  sufferance  of  princes, 
have  been  bestowed  on  the  ministers  of  public  worship.  Yet,  by 
these  liberties,  kings  ought  not  to  be  hindered  in  the  government  and 
defence  of  their  realms ;  even  as  Christ  said  to  the  priests  of  the  tem- 
ple, that  they  should  render  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's,  and  to 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's.     Have  not  those  persons  rendered 


6  BONIFACE    VIII.     AND    PHILIP    THE    FAIR. 

in  a  perverted  sense  to  God,  who  have  sought  to  alter  and  distort  the 
old  and  natural  law  according  to  their  own  caprice  ?  What  reason- 
able man  must  not  be  filled  with  astonishment  at  hearing  that  the 
vicar  of  Christ  forbids  the  emperor  to  institute  tribute ;  and  with  the 
threat  of  excommunication  fulminates  an  order,  that  the  clergy  should 
not  rally  in  support  of  the  king,  of  the  realm,  nay,  in  defence  of  them- 
selves against  unjust  attacks,  according  to  their  ability  ?  Next, 
allusion  is  made  to  the  worldly  lives  of  the  clergy ;  and  it  is  objected 
to  the  pope,  that  he  connived  at  this  evil,  while  he  prohibited  ecclesi- 
astics from  fulfilling  their  duties  to  the  civil  powers.  To  squander 
away  money,  it  is  said,  on  theatrical  exhibitions  and  worldly  pleasures 
at  the  expense  of  the  poor ;  to  make  extravagant  expenditures  for 
dress,  for  horses,  for  feasts  and  entertainments  :  all  this  is  permitted 
them,,  as  an  example  for  corrupt  imitation.  But  it  was  alike  con- 
trary to  nature  and  to  reason,  to  divine  law  and  to  human,  to  be  lavish 
in  granting  that  which  is  not  permitted,  and  eager  to  hinder  that 
which  is  not  only  permitted,  but  even  necessary.  The  king  avowed 
his  respect  for  the  church  and  its  ministers ;  but  at  the  same  time 
declared,  that  he  did  not  fear  the  unreasonable  and  unrighteous  threats 
of  men. 

This  first  quarrel  was,  it  is  true,  soon  afterwards  hushed  up,  when 
the  king  accepted  the  mediation  of  the  pope  in  settling  his  political 
strifes.  In  no  long  time,  however,  it  broke  out  again  with  an  increase 
of  violence.  Boniface  complained  of  the  manifold  oppressions  suffered 
by  the  church  in  France ;  and  in  the  year  1301  set  forth  his  griev- 
ances through  a  legate,  who  had  already  on  a  previous  occasion  made 
himself  odious  to  the  French  government,  and  who  by  his  character 
and  his  principles  which  he  avowed  without  reserve,  was  the  very  man 
to  bring  about  a  rupture  which  could  not  be  healed.  This  was  the 
bishop  iSaiset  de  Pamiers.  He  told  the  king,  that  although  the  seat  of 
his  bishopric  came  under  French  jurisdiction,  yet,  as  a  bishop  he  was 
not  the  king's  subject,  but  amenable,  in  secular  things  as  well  as  eccle- 
siastical, to  the  pope.  He  threatened  the  king  with  the  ban,  and  his 
whole  realm  with  the  interdict.  Unanswered  and  with  contempt,  the 
bishop  was  sent  out  of  the  kingdom.  Soon,  however,  he  ventured  to 
appear  again  in  his  diocese.  The  consequence  of  his  rebellious  con- 
duct was  his  arrest.  It  so  happened,  that  the  irascible  pope,  perhaps 
in  the  first  outburst  of  wrath,  sent  a  letter  to  the  king,  composed  with 
dictatorial  brevity,  and  commencing  thus :  "  Thou  art  to  know,  that 
in  things  spiritual  and  temporal,  thou  art  subject  to  us."1  He  told  him, 
that  the  power  of  bestowing  royal  benefices  depended  solely  on  the 
pope  ;  and  he  ended  with  these  words:  "  Those  who  think  otherwise, 
we  hold  to  be  heretics."  This  curt  letter,  instead  of  the  usual  apos- 
tolic salutation,  bore  for  a  superscription  :  "  Deum  time  et  mandata 
ejus  observa."  The  style  of  this  epistle  might  indeed  suggest  doubts 
with  regard  to  its  authenticity ;  but  then  again  how  much  con- 
fidence is  there  to  be  placed  in  the  passionate  temper  of  a   pope,  who 

1  Scire  te  volumus,  quod  in  spiritualibus  et  temporalibus  nobis  subes. 


PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION.  7 

set  no  limits  to  his  arbitrary  will,  and  was  not  always  mindful  of  de- 
cency. If  it  was  attempted  afterwards  to  deny  the  official  character 
of  such  a  document,  still  it  does  not  follow,  that  such  a  letter  was 
not  actually  sent  by  the  pope.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  doubt  on 
the  subject  in  the  very  time  of  these  events.1 

To  this  letter  the  king  returned  as  laconic  an  answer  ;  with  the  ad- 
dress, "  Philip,  by  the  grace  of  God  king  of  the  French,  to  Boniface, 
who  claims  to  be  the  Pope  ;  little  greeting,  or  rather  none  at  all.2  " 
The  letter  began  thus  :  "  Let  thy  most  consummate  folly  know,  that 
in  temporal  things,  Ave  are  subject  to  wo  war?."3  What  Boniface  had 
affirmed,  was  here  as  stoutly  denied  ;  and  then  to  the  card  which  Bo- 
niface had  added,  was  thrown  down  another,  quite  its  match. 
*w  Those  who  think  otherwise  we  hold  to  be  foolish  or  mad."4 

Already  were  the  boldest  voices  heard  remonstrating  against  papal 
usurpations.  In  an  opinion  written  upon  this  letter  of  the  pope,  in 
which  it  was  designed  to  prove  that  the  pope  had,  by  making  such  as- 
sertions, fallen  into  a  heresy,  the  king's  advocate,  Peter  de  Bosco,  ex- 
pressed himself  as  follows  :  The  popes  before  the  gift  of  Constantine, 
had  lived  in  a  condition  of  the  greatest  poverty.  This  gift  was,  at  the 
beginning,  not  legally  binding  ;  and  it  might  be  revoked  were  it  not  for 
the  many  years  that  have  since  elapsed.  But  the  most  righteous 
punishment  which  a  man  can  suffer  is  to  ruin  himself  by  his  own  ac- 
tions ;  as  Christ  intimated  when  he  said  to  Peter  —  "  They  who  take 
the  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword  ; "  and  perhaps  it  would  be  of  ad- 
vantage to  the  popes  to  become  as  poor  as  they  once  were,  that  they 
might  be  as  holy.  It  would  be  better  for  them  to  enter  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  with  the  poor,  than  by  pride,  luxury  and  rapine,  to  join 
company  with  those,  who  show  by  the  fruits  of  their  daily  living,  that 
they  do  not  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  If  the  pope  be  a  ser- 
vant of  God,  as  he  calls  himself  a  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  he 
should  shun  the  mortal  sins,  robbery,  luxury  and  pride  ;  for  Christ 
came  not  to  destroy  the  law  but  to  fulfil.5 

The  same  day  on  which  that  shorter  letter  is  said  to  have  been  des- 
patched, on  the  5th  of  December,  1301,  the  pope  sent  a  very  long 
letter  to  the  king.6  In  this  he  set  forth  in  detail  all  the  complaints 
against  him  and  his  government.  He  exhorts  him  to  reform,  threat- 
ening him,  if  he  does  not,  with  the  worst ;  a  step  which  he  should  take 
only  with  the  greatest  reluctance.     Next  he  informs  the  king,  that  he 

1  The  language  employed  in  vindication  Boniface  VIII.  et  Philippe  lc  Bel,  roi  de 

of  the  pope,  to  be  found  among  the  trans-  France.  Paris  1055,  p.  75. 

actions  of  tl^e  papal  consistory  in  the  year  2  Bonifacio  se  gerenti  pro  sntnmo  pon- 

1302,  testifies  in  favor  of  the  statement  in  tifice  salutem  modlcam  sen  nullam. 

the  text.  The  document,  after  distinguish-  :i  Sciat  Tua  maxima  fatuitas,  in  teropo- 

ing  this  letter  from  the  Longer  one  tiereaf-  ralibus  nosalicui  non  subesse. 

ter  to  be  mentioned,  goes  on  to  observe:  *  Seeus  autem  credentea  fatnos  et  de- 

Dicitur   quod    una,    alia    litera   fuit  missa  mentes  putamus. 

Don, i                         io  nude  venerit   ilia  lit-  5  In  the  above  cited  collection,  p.  46. 

era,  sed  scio  quod  per  fratres  aacri  collegii  6  Complete  in  the  above  cited  collection 

n  on  fuit  m  i  s  s  a  ,  et  excuse,  Dominum  of  documents,  p.  -IS  ;  and  with    the   omis- 

by  order 


nostrum,  quia  credo  nrmiter,  quod  illam  sion  of  the  passages  expunged  by  < 
literam  non  misit,  nee  ab  eo  emanavit.  of  Clement  V,  in  Baynaldi  1^01,  No. 
— Histoire  du  differend    d'entre  le  pape 


28. 


8  BONIFACE     VIII.    AND     PHILIP    THE    FAIR. 

intended  to  cite  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  French  church  to  Rome, 
to  appear  there  by  the  first  of  November  of  the  following  year,  for  the 
purpose  of  advising  with  them  as  to  the  best  method  of  removing  the 
grievances  above  referred  to,  and  of  improving  the  administration  of 
the  realm.  The  king  might  either  appear  personally  at  Rome,  or  he 
might  send  agents  invested  with  full  powers  ;  but  at  all  events,  he  him- 
self would  not  be  induced,  even  should  the  king  omit  to  do  this,  to 
alter  his  own  conduct  on  that  account.  "  But  thou  wilt  observe  "  — 
says  he  —  "  what  the  Lord  our  God  speaks  forth  in  us." 

Thus  the  pope  set  himself  up  as  judge  not  only  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  but  also  over  the  king's  government ;  for  he  would  have  him- 
self regarded,  little  as  it  suited  with  his  character  and  his  habits  of 
life,  a  sort  of  theocratic  umpire  over  all  the  affairs  of  the  world :  and 
so  he  says,  following  in  this  the  example  of  other  popes,  that  God  had 
set  him  above  kings  and  kingdoms,  to  pull  down  and  build  up.  He 
warns  the  king  against  allowing  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  any  one, 
that  he  had  no  superiors,  that  he  was  not  subject  to  the  head  of  the 
whole  hierarchy  ;  for  whoever  thought  so  was  a  fool ;  and  whoever  ob- 
stinately maintained  it,  showed  that  he  was  an  infidel.1 

The  validity  of  such  a  bull,  the  king  could  not,  of  course,  acknow- 
ledge without  denying  the  sovereignty  of  his  government,  and  making 
himself  wholly  dependant  on  the  hierarchy.  The  bull  was  publicly 
burnt,  and  that  it  had  been  so  disposed  of,  was  everywhere  announced 
by  public  proclamation. 

The  disputed  principles  according  to  which  Boniface  here  acted, 
were  also  theoretically  expounded  by  him,  in  a  bull,  constituting  an 
epoch  in  church  history,  which  from  its  commencing  words  is  called 
"  Unam  Sanctam ; "  and  the  papal  absolutism  therein  asserted  was 
thus  erected  into  a  necessary  article  of  faith.  To  be  sure,  this  bull 
contains  nothing  more2  than  the  logically  consequent  development  of  the 
principles  on  which  the  entire  churchly  theocratic  system  had  rested 
since  the  time  of  Gregory  VII.,  that  Christ  had  committed  to  Peter 
two  swords,  —  symbols  of  the  spiritual,  and  of  the  secular  authority. 
Both  swords  were  dependant  therefore  on  the  church.  The  one  was 
to  be  drawn  by  the  church,  the  other  for  the  church ;  the  one  by  the 
hand  of  the  priest,  the  other  by  the  hands  of  kings  and  soldiers,  but 
at  the  priests'  behest.  The  secular  power  must  needs,  therefore,  be 
subject  to  the  spiritual ;  in  correspondence  to  that  law  of  divine  order 
in  the  world,  by  which  the  lower  is  connected  with  that  which  is  high- 
est through  various  intermediate  gradations ;  in  proof  of  which  the 
pope  appeals  to  Dionysius  the  Areopagite.  Whenever,  therefore,  the 
earthly  power  deviates  from  right,  it  must  be  corrected  by  the  spiritual. 
Whenever  an  inferior  spiritual  power  violates  its  duty,  it  can  be  cor- 
rected only  hy&superior,  but  the  supreme  authority  can  be  correct- 
ed only  by  God.  To  supply  a  ground  for  this  position,  the  words  of 
Paul  must  be  perverted  ;  "  He  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet 
he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man."     The   assertion  that  there  are  two 

1  In  the  above  cited  collection,  p.  48.  8  Vid  Raynaldi  1302,  No.  13. 


PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION.  9 

powers  subsisting  independently  of  each  other,  is  declared  to  be  Ma- 
nichreism..1  That  all  men  must  obey  the  pope,  is  set  forth  as  an  article 
of  faith  necessary  to  salvation.2 

This  bull  was  considered  in  France  an  encroachment  on  the  king's 
authority  ;  a  contrivance  to  make  that  authority  dependant  on  the  pope. 
The  most  emphatic  protests  were  issued  against  it.  The  grievances 
which  the  church  had  to  suffer  from  the  capricious  exercise  of  papal 
authority  were  thereby  brought  into  discussion.  In  the  letter  which 
the  nobles  of  the  realm  and  the  bishops  sent  to  the  cardinals,  com- 
plaints were  made  of  the  pope's  bad  government  of  the  church,  of  the 
arbitrary  methods  of  procedure  in  the  distribution  of  benefices,  where- 
by the  churches  were  prostrated.  It  was  said  that  foreigners,  that 
boys,  obtained  the  high  offices  of  the  church  ;  that  as  such  persons 
lived  at  a  distance  from  the  communities  over  which  they  were  placed, 
and  could  not  administer  the  office  in  person,  the  church  service  fell 
into  neglect ;  the  wishes  of  those  who  had  founded  the  churches,  were 
disregarded ;  the  prelates  were  hindered  from  bestowing  the  benefices 
on  well-informed  clergymen  of  good  standing.3  The  Cardinals  endea- 
vored to  defend  the  pope  against  these  complaints.  Injustice  enough, 
there  doubtless  may  have  been  ori  both  sides ;  and  the  two  parties 
may  have  had  sufficient  ground  for  mutual  crimination.  The  pope 
cauld  appeal  to  the  fact,  that  a  bishop  also  had  instated  two  boys,  his 
nephews.  He  had  never  heard,  he  says,  when  vindicating  himself 
before  the  consistory  of  cardinals,  that  the  king  or  a  prelate  had  in- 
stated, as  it  behooved  them  to  do,  a  master  in  theology ;  but  he  had 
heard  of  their  instating  their  nephews,  or  other  unqualified  persons. 

From  the  reproach  also  of  having  encroached  upon  the  royal  author- 
ity and  its  independent  prerogatives,  Rome  endeavored  to  clear  herself. 
This  conclusion  could  only  have  been  arrived  at,  by  a  falsification  or 
false  interpretation  of  the  pope's  letter.  "  For  forty  years,"  says 
Boniface,  "  I  have  studied  the  law  ;  and  well  know  that  two  powers 
are  ordained  of  God.  Who  then  ought  to  believe,  or  can  believe  me 
guilty  of  such  folly  ?  "4  And  so  too  affirmed  the  cardinals.  Never 
had  the  pope  written  to  the  king,  that  the  latter  had  received  from 
him  the  secular  power,  and  that  therein  the  king  was  subject  to  the 
pope.5  But  how  is  this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  principles  expressed 
in  the  bull  Unam  Sanctam  ?  To  understand  this  we  need  only  to  see 
clearly  into  certain  distinctions  of  the  papal  law.  It  was  very  true 
that  the  spiritual  and  secular  powers  should  subsist,  each  distinct  and 
separate  from  the  other ;  and  yet,  from  the  moral  oversight  of  the 
pope  nothing  should  be  withdrawn;    to  his  moral  tribunal  every  thing 

1  Nisi  duo  sicut  Manichaeus  fingat  prin-        3  See  the  letter  of  the  barons  in  the 

cipia,  quod  falsum  et  haereticnm  esse  ju-  above  cited  Collection,  p.  61  :  the  letter  of 

dicamus;  and   against  this  Dualism,  the  the  French  church  assembly  to  the  pope, 

i'l    reason  that  Moses  did  not  say  p  69. 
In  principiis, but  In  principio coelum Deus        4  Quis  ergo   debet  credere  vel   potest, 

creavit  et  terrain.  quod  tanta  fatuitas  tanta  insipientia  sit  vel 

-  Poito  subesse  Romano  pontifici  omnihu-  fuerit  in  capite  nostra  1 
manse  creatures  declaramua,  dicimus  et  dif-        B  In  the  above  cited  Collection,  p.  63. 
nnimus  omnino  esse  de  necessitate  salutis. 


10  BONIFACE    VIII.     AND     PHILIP    THE    FAIR. 

must  be  amenable.  And  thus,  what  was  conceded  to  the  secular 
power  with  one  hand  is  taken  back  by  the  other.  By  virtue  of  his 
moral  tribunal  the  pope  could  still  make  every  other  power,  which  he 
acknowledged  to  be,  in  a  certain  respect,  an  independent  one,  depend- 
ant on  himself.  Thus,  while  he  acknowledged  this  sort  of  relative  in- 
dependence, he  might  at  the  same  time  declare,  that  the  king  could 
no  more  than  any  other  believer,  deny,  that  he  was  still  subject  to  the 
pope  in  respect  of  sins.1  And  accordingly,  in  that  very  consistory 
which  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  vindicating  the  pope,  the  cardinal- 
bishop  of  Porto  affirmed,  "  There  is  a  ruler,  a  chief  at  the  head  of 
the  church,  whose  commands  all  must  obey."  This  ruler  was  lord 
over  all,  spiritual  things  and  secular.  It  was  a  thing  not  to  be  doubted 
by  any  man,  that  in  reference  to  sins,  the  pope  had  judicial  authority 
over  all  things  temporal.  As  God  had  created  two  luminaries,  one  to 
rule  the  day,  the  other  the  night,  so  had  he  conferred  on  the  pope 
spiritual  jurisdiction  in  the  highest  sense  ;  on  the  emperor  and  princes, 
jurisdiction  in  temporal  things  ;  which  is  always  to  be  understood 
however,  in  its  connection  with  the  distinction  above  alluded  to ;  the 
distinction  between  right  and  practice,  as  it  is  here  called.  It  is  as- 
serted, that  as  certainly  as  Christ  -is  to  be  judge  over  quick  and  dead, 
just  so  certainly  this  prerogative  must  also  belong  to  his  vicar,  the 
pope.  This  was  a  part  of  the  idea  of  the  community  of  saints.  Al- 
though the  secular  power,  therefore,  is  not  the  pope's,  as  to  practice, 
for  Christ  commanded  Peter  to  return  his  sword  into  its  sheath,  still  it 
should  remain  dependant  on  him,  as  to  right.2  According  to  these 
principles  Boniface  acted,  when  he  told  the  king,  that  if  he  did  not 
reform,  if  he  refused  to  let  his  prelates  come  to  Rome,  the  pope  would 
depose  him,  as  his  predecessors  had  already  deposed  three  French 
kings.  His  arrogant  language  was,  "  The  king  who  has  done 
wickedness  we  will  depose  as  if  he  was  a  boy."  3  What  means  the 
pope  resorted  to  for  extending  his  dominion  over  all,  we  may  gather 
from  a  boast  of  his,  that  he  knew  all  the  secrets  of  the  French  king- 
dom. 

It  is  true,  the  king  had  straitly  charged  the  French  prelates  not  to 
leave  the  kingdom.  The  goods  of  those  who  obeyed  the  pope's  cita- 
tion were  sequestrated  ;  still  Boniface  required  it  of  them  that  they 
should  not  be  hindered  by  any  fear  of  man  from  doing  their  duty. 
And  on  the  13th  of  April,  1303,  he  issued  a  bull,  pronouncing  the 
king  under  ban,  because  he  had  hindered  the  prelates  from  coming  to 
the  council  at  Rome,  and  oppressed  in  various  ways  those  who  did  at- 
tend it,  on  their  return  home.  When  it  had  come  to  this,  the  king  in 
the  same  year  convoked  an  assembly  of  the  estates,  for  the  purpose 
of  consulting  with  them  as  to  what  was  to  be  done  to  counteract  the 
plots  of  the  pope,  and  secure  against  them  the  safety  of  the  realm. 
On  this  occasion  charges  were  brought  against  the  pope  in  order  to 
furnish  ground  for  a  protest  against  the  legality  of  his  government. 

1  Non  potest  negare  rex,  seu  quieunque        2  See  p.  76. 
alter  fidelis,  quin   sit  nobio  subjectus  ra-        3  Nos  deponeremus  regcin  sicuti  unuiu 
tionc  peccati.  garcionem. 


BONIFACE    VIII.    AND   PHILLIP   THE    FAIR.  11 

These  charges  did  not  relate  to  simony  alone,  and  to  prolan  i  and 
worldly  pursuits,  but  also  to  unnatural  licentiousness,  and  to  the  gross- 
est infidelity.  It  was  said,  for  example,  that  Boniface  denied  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  and  often,  before  those  with  whom  he  was  inti- 
mate, uttered  such  language  as  this  :  "  You  fools  sillily  believe  a 
foolish  thing !  Who  ever  came  back  from  the  other  world,  to  tell  us 
anything  about  it  ?  Happy  they  who  know  how  to  enjoy  life  ;  and  pit- 
iable creatures  are  those  who  lose  the  present  life  in  hopes  of  gaining  a 
future  one,  like  the  dog  that  stands  over  a  pool  of  water  with  a  bit  of 
meat  in  his  mouth,  and  seeing  the  reflected  image  of  it,  lets  go  the 
substance  to  chase  after  the  shadow."1  He  would  often  quote,  it  was 
said,  the  words  of  Solomon,  "  All  is  vanity !  All  will  ever  continue 
to  be  as  it  has  been."  If  we  could  credit  these  accusations,  we 
should  have  to  set  down  Boniface  as  the  most  abominable  of  hypo- 
crites ;  one  who  believing  nothing,  used  spiritual  things  merely  as'  a 
means  to  promote  his  selfish  ends  ;  a  man  without  any  religion  what- 
ever, who,  finding  papal  absolutism  ready  prepared  for  his  purpose, 
wielded  it  for  the  gratification  of  his  unhallowed  passions  ;  and  hence 
was  never  restrained  by  any  religious  or  moral  scruples  from  abusing 
that  power.  It  would  be  a  remarkable  sign  of  the  times,  if  it  were 
possible  to  find  in  his  case  an  infidelity  expressed  with  so  much  con- 
sciousness, —  an  infidelity  using  superstition  merely  as  a  means  and  a 
pretext.  As  to  what  is  said  against  the  moral  character  of  this  pope, 
we  certainly  have  no  reason  to  question  the  truth  of  the  testimony  on 
that  point ;  and  in  a  man  of  so  reckless  a  spirit,  in  a  man  so  ready  to 
use  spiritual  weapons  to  secure  his  own  ends,  the  transition,  it  must  be 
allowed,  was  a  very  easy  one  from  superstition  to  absolute  infidelity. 
But  the  accusations  against  the  pope  in  relation  to  the  matter  of  re- 
ligion, proceeding  from  his  most  violent  enemies,  are  not  sustained  by 
sufficient  evidence.  From  the  contradiction,  which  was  so  apparent 
between  the  life  and  conduct  of  Boniface  and  his  spiritual  vocation 
and  religious  professions,  men  might  easily  be  led  to  conclude  that  the 
pope  did  not  himself  put  faith  in  anything  he  said  and  did  with  a 
view  to  promote  his  own  designs.  Still,  however,  it  is  a  remarkable 
sign,  that  such  rumors  should  get  into  circulation  respecting  the  reli- 
gious opinion  of  a  pope,  however  incredible  many  of  the  things  may 
seem  to  be,  of  which  this  pope  is  accused.  With  regard  to  his  moral 
character,  the  voice  of  his  times  is  one  and  the  same ;  not  so  with  re- 
gard to  the  matter  of  religion.  Even  those  who  speak  most  unfavor- 
ably of  Boniface  take  no  part  in  accusing  him  on  this  point.  The  fa- 
mous  poet  Dante,  who  certainly  stood  far  enough  removed  from  the 
papal  party,  also  portrays  Boniface  as  an  altogether  worldly  minded 
man,  one  who  profaned  holy  things.  Yet  he  does  not  place  him 
among  the  unbelievers,  the  deniers  of  immortality,  in  hell ;  as  he  does 
Frederic  II.,  towards  whom  he  must  in  other  respects  have  been 
more  favorably  inclined,  by  virtue  of  his  party  interest,  as  a  Ghibelline. 
This  surely  may  be  regarded  as  of  some  weight  in  estimating  the 
credibility  of  those  charges  against  the  religious  views  of  Boniface. 

1  See  p.  328. 


12  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

These  charges  having  been  formally  set  forth,  it  was  now  proposed 
that  appeal  should  be  made  to  a  general  council,  before  which  they 
could  be  duly  investigated.  The  proposition  was  adopted.  The 
assembly  appealed  to  a  general  council,  and  to  a  future  lawful  pope. 
Many  spiritual  and  secular  bodies  united  in  this  appeal,  with  the  pro- 
viso that  the  pope  should  be  allowed  an  opportunity  of  defending  him- 
self against  such  charges.  Thus,  for  the  second  time,  Ave  are  presented 
with  the  case  of  an  appeal  to  a  general  council  for  the  purpose  of 
passing  judgment  on  a  pope. 

The  pope,  of  course,  pronounced  all  these  transactions  disorderly, 
and  unlawful.  In  opposition  to  these  resolutions  and  appeals  he  put 
forth  a  bull,  on  the  15th  of  August,  1303.  In  this,  he  did  not  enter 
minutely  into  any  refutation  of  the  charges  brought  against  his  re- 
ligious views,  but  simply  says :  "  Where  before  had  it  ever  been  heard, 
that  he  was  infected  with  heresies  ?  Of  what  individual  of  his  whole 
family,  or  of  his  province  of  Campania,  could  this  be  said  ?  Whence 
then  this  so  sudden  change,  that  he  who,  but  a  short  time  ago,  had  been 
regarded  by  the  king  as  lawful  pope,  should  at  once  be  accused  as  a 
heretic  ?  No  other  reason  could  be  assigned  but  this,  that  the  pope 
had  considered  it  his  duty  to  call  the  king  to  account  for  wrongs  he 
had  done.  A  precedent  then,  was  now  to  be  given,  that  whenever  the 
successor  of  Peter  should  propose  to  correct  a  prince  or  powerful  noble, 
he  might  be  accused  as  a  heretic,  or  a  transgressor  ;  and  so  reforma- 
tion would  be  eluded,  and  the  highest  authority  completely  prostrated. 
"  Far  be  it  from  me,"  he  said,  "  without  whom  no  council  can  be  con- 
voked, to  permit  any  such  precedent  to  be  given."  The  pope  pro- 
nounces every  appeal  from  him  to  be  null  and  void.  He  affirms  that 
none  superior  or  equal  to  him  exists  among  mortals,  to  whom  an  appeal 
could  be  made  ;  that  without  him,  no  council  could  be  convoked  ;  and 
he  reserves  it  to  himself  to  choose  the  fit  time  and  place  for  proceed- 
ing against  the  king  and  his  adherents  and  punishing  such  guilty  ex- 
cesses, unless  they  should  previously  reform,  and  give  due  satisfaction, 
— ';  so  that  their  blood,"  says  the  pope,  "  may  not  be  required  at  our 
hands." 

The  pope,  with  his  cardinals,  had  retired  to  his  native  city  Anagni ; 
and  already,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1303,  had  drawn  up  a  new 
bull  of  excommunication  against  Philip,  discharging  all  his  subjects 
from  their  oath  of  allegiance  and  forbidding  them  any  longer  to  obey 
him,  when,  before  he  could  deal  the  blow,  he  fell  himself  a  victim  to 
the  vengeance  of  his  fiercest  enemy.  William  of  Nogaret,  the  French 
keeper  of  the  seals,  having  been  commissioned  by  the  king  to  announce 
those  resolutions  to  the  cardinals  and  the  pope,  and  to  see  them 
carried  into  execution,  pushed  forward,  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of 
armed  men,  got  together  with  the  assistance  of  several  of  the  ban- 
ished Colonnas,  and  entered  at  early  dawn  into  Anagni.  The  cry  was 
raised,  "  Death  to  Pope  Boniface !  long  live  the  king  of  France  !  " 
The  people  took  sides  with  the  soldiers.  The  cardinals  fled.  The 
pope,  forsaken  by  all,  was  surrendered  as  a  victim  into  the  hands  of 
his  enemies.     He  showed  himself  to  be  firm  and  courageous  in  misfor- 


AEGIDIUS    OF   ROME.  13 

tune  ;  and  we  see  plainly  how  much  he  might  have  accomplished,  had 
his  bold,  energetic  will  been  inspired  by  a  single  spark  of  religious  or 
moral  feeling.  "  Since,"  said  he,  "  I  am  a  prisoner  by  betrayal,  like 
Christ,  it  becomes  me  to  die,  at  least  like  a  pope."  On  the  papal 
throne,  clad  with  all  the  papal  insignia,  he  awaited  his  enemies. 
Nogaret  took  possession  of  the  pope's  person,  and  of  his  whole  retinue. 
He  descended  to  low  abuse,  and  indulged  himself  in  scandalous  jokes 
on  his  prisoner.  Boniface,  who  thought  he  had  good  cause  to  look  out 
for  poison,  found  himself  reduced  to  the  most  deplorable  condition. 
But  three  days  had  scarcely  elapsed  before  a  change  took  place  in  the 
fickle  populace.  They  were  seized  with  pity  towards  the  forsaken 
Boniface,  and  indignation  against  those  who  had  reduced  him  to 
this  state.  The  multitude  ran  together,  shouting,  "  Long  live  Boni- 
face !  death  to  his  betrayers  !  "  Thus  the  French  were  driven  from 
the  city,  and  Boniface,  set  at  liberty,  was  enabled  to  return  to  Rome. 
But  he  did  not  escape  the  fate  which  he  had  drawn  down  on  his  own 
head.  Mortified  ambition  and  pride,  as  it  would  seem,  threw  him  into 
a  mental  distemper,  which  terminated  in  insanity.  He  never  got  up 
from  it,  and  died  in  this  state  on  the  12th  of  October,  1303.  On  this 
unhappy  end  of  Boniface,  the  Florentine  historian,  Villain,1  judging 
according  to  the  prevailing  opinion  of  his  age,  makes  the  following  com- 
ment :  "  We  ought  not  to  be  surprised  at  the  judgments  of  God  in 
first  punishing,  after  this  manner,  Pope  Boniface,  a  man  more  worldly 
than  became  his  station,  and  one  who  did  much  that  was  displeasing  to 
God,  —  and  then  punishing  him  also  who  was  employed  as  the  instru- 
ment of  the  pope's  punishment ;  not  so  much  on  account  of  his  treat- 
ment of  Boniface  personally,  as  on  account  of  his  trespass  against  the 
Divine  Majesty,  of  which  the  pope  is  the  representative  on  earth." 

This  issue,  in  which  a  defence  so  conducted  of  papal  absolutism 
pushed  to  the  farthest  extreme,  resulted,  was  important  not  only  in  it- 
self, but  also  on  account  of  the  grave  consequences  to  which  it  imme- 
diately led ;  the  contest  between  the  papal-court  system  of  the  Middle 
Ages  and  a  more  liberal  tendency  which  gathered  strength  and  bold- 
ness every  day.  As  the  first  representatives  of  the  latter  appear, 
amidst  these  controversies,  two  distinguished  writers, —  the  Augustinian 
Aeyidim  of  Home,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Bourges,  and  the 
Parisian  Theologian  John  of  Paris,  a  Dominican,  of  whom  we 
have  already  spoken  in  the  section  relating  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  in  the  preceding  period.  The  former  composed,  in 
the  usual  scholastic  form,  a  controversial  tract,  in  opposition  to  the 
pope's  absolute  authority,  as  asserted  by  Boniface  in  the  above-men- 
tioned shorter  bull,  —  another  evidence  of  the  authenticity  of  that 
bull  which  ought  not  to  be  overlooked.2 

From  the  fact,  that  the  pope  was  the  vicar  of  Christ  it  had  been 
attempted  to  prove  his  universal  authority ;  but  in  this  tract  the  idea 
of  such  a  vicarship  was  used  for  a  directly  contrary  purpose.     We 

1  Lib.  8.  63.  In  Goldasti  raonarchia  sacri  imperii,  torn. 

2  Quaestio  disputata  in  utramque  par-    II. 
tern  pro  et  contra  potificiain  potestatem. 

VOL.    V.  2 


14  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

here  see  the  way  already  preparing  for  a  tendency,  which  from  fcliia 
time  forward  appeared  under  various  forms,  and  preceded  the  Refor- 
mation,—  the  tendency  which  aimed  to  set  forth  prominently  the  con- 
trast between  the  pope  as  he  was,  and  that  which  he  ought  to  be  as 
vicar  of  Christ.  Although, —  it  is  said, —  Christ  might  have  been  Lord 
over  all,  yet  he  did  not  use  this  power.  In  fact,  he  declined  the  royal 
authority  whenever  it  was  offered  to  him,  John  vi.  When  the  multi- 
tude would  have  made  him  king,  he  escaped  from  their  hands,  thereby 
teaching  his  followers  to  shun  an  insatiable  covetousness,  and  restless 
ambition.  Thus  he  spiritually  gave  example  to  his  representatives  on 
earth,  that  they  should  not  covet  imperial  or  royal  honors,  still  less 
take  upon  themselves  any  such  dignity.  It  was  also  to  be  reckoned 
as  a  part  of  the  same  lesson,  that  he  refused  to  interfere  in  settling 
disputes  about  inheritance,  Luke  xii.  "  The  Son  of  God  ever  disdained 
acting  as  a  judge  over  temporal  possessions,  though  ordained  of  God 
to  be  the  judge  of  quick  and  dead."  Neither  should  his  representa- 
tives, therefore,  intermeddle  with  matters  of  temporal  jurisdiction. 
Christ  permitted  neither  Peter  nor  the  other  apostles  to  exercise  secu- 
lar dominion  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  constantly  enjoined  on  them  hu- 
mility, and  instead  of  secular  power,  recommended  to  them  great 
poverty.  They  were  to  have  neither  gold  nor  silver.  Aegidius  ap- 
peals to  the  words  of  Peter  in  the  Acts,  "  Silver  and  gold  have  I 
none."  The  apostles  were  to  be  spiritually  minded ;  to  withdraw 
themselves  from  earthly  things,  as  far  as  human  frailty  permitted  ;  to 
be  absorbed  in  things  spiritual  and  eternal ;  to  watch  over  the  welfare 
of  souls.  For  Christ  knew  that  temporal  things  ruffle  the  temper, 
distract  the  spirit,  and  sink  it  wholly  in  the  world. 

As  to  the  question  regarding  the  relation  of  the  two  powers  to  each 
other,  Aegidius  distinguishes  the  different  classes  of  affairs.  In  mat- 
ters purely  spiritual,  such  as  questions  of  matrimony,  the  secular 
power  was  undoubtedly  subordinate  to  the  spiritual.  But  with  matters 
purely  secular,  such  as  feudal  and  criminal  causes,  the  case  stood 
otherwise.  These  things  God  had  committed  especially  and  directly  to. 
secular  rulers  ;  and  with  such,  neither  the  popes  nor  any  other  prelates 
of  the  most  ancient  church  had  ever  intermeddled. 

The  defenders  of  papal  absolutism  maintained,  that  the  church, 
being  one  body,  can  have  but  one  head ;  that  a  body  with  two  heads 
would  be  a  monster.  To  this  he  replied :  Properly  speaking,  the 
church  has  assuredly  but  one  head,  which  is  Christ ;  and  from  him  are 
derived  the  two  powers,  spiritual  and  temporal ;  yet,  in  a  certain  re- 
spect, the  pope  may  be  called  head  of  the  church,  inasmuch  as  he  is 
the  first  among  the  servants  of  the  church  —  the  one  on  whom  the 
whole  spiritual  order  depends.  This  conception  of  the  papal  power, 
as  referring  solely  to  that  which  is  necessary  or  profitable  to  salvation, 
to  ends  purely  spiritual,  is  ever  kept  distinctly  in  view  by  this  writer. 

The  sophistical  defenders  of  papal  absolutism  were  disposed  to  find 
in  the  comprehension  of  all  things  in  one  unity  under  the  pope  as  head 
over  all,  a  restoration  of  that  original  state,  in  which  Adam  was  the 
universal  head.     To  this  Aegidius  answered  :  that  the  comparison  did 


JOHN    OF    PARIS.  15 

not  apply  ;  for  in  man's  original  condition,  there  could  not  have  been 
states  ;  and  then  again,  all  must  have  been  spiritually-minded.  There 
may  have  been,  indeed,  a  certain  rule  of  subordination,  as  there  are 
different  grades  among  the  angels ;  yet  no  such  relation  of  rulers  and 
subjects,  as  belongs  to  the  idea  of  a  state. 

It  had  been  a  governing  principle  ever  since  the  time  of  Gregory 
VII.,  that  the  pope  could  absolve  subjects  from  their  oath  of  alle- 
giance ;  and  from  this  it  was  inferred  that  his  authority  must  extend 
also  to  temporal  things.  But  Aegidius  would  concede  the  principle 
thus  assumed,  only  under  certain  limitations.  "  The  pope,"  says  he. 
"  i  an  absolve  subjects  from  their  oath  of  allegiance,  or  rather  declare 
that  they  are  so  absolved."  By  this  latter  clause,  he  doubtless  meant 
to  have  it  understood,  that  the  pope  cannot  here  express  an  arbitrary 
judgment,  but  only  testify  to  a  fact,  or  state  that  it  had  its  real  ground 
in  the  very  nature  of  law  itself.  But  this  could  be  done  only  in  those 
cases  in  which  he  was  warranted  also  to  take  steps  against  a  ruler ;  as 
in  cases  of  heresy',  of  schism,  or  of  obstinate  rebellion  against  the 
Roman  church. 

The  "  plenitude  of  power "  ascribed  to  the  pope,  a  prerogative 
which  the  popes  so  often  appealed  to,  as  one  which  enabled  them  to 
cany  through  all  their  measures,  Aegidius  would  allow  to  be  valid  only 
under  certain  limitations.  It  was  valid  only  in  reference  to  the  souls 
of  men ;  only  in  reference  to  the  binding  and  loosing,  and  only  on  the 
presupposition  that  the  pope's  decision  was  not  an  erroneous  one.  He 
could  not  bestow  renewing  grace  on  souls  ;  he  could  neither^save  nor 
condemn  them  ;  he  could  not  forgive  sins,  except  so  far  as  he  was  the 
instrument  of  a  higher  power.  Even  in  spiritual  things,  no  such  un- 
conditional fulness  of  power  was  to  be  attributed  to  him ;  but  only  a 
fulness  of  power  as  compared  with  that  of  subordinate  church  author- 
ities. It  was  an  argument,  indeed,  often  used,  that  as  the  spiritual  is 
so  far  exalted  above  the  temporal,  therefore  he  who  has  supreme  pow- 
er over  the  spiritual,  must  a  fortiori  exercise  that  power  over  the 
temporal.  Aegidius  exposes  the  sophistry  of  this  argument,  by  re- 
marking that  this  mode  of  reasoning  a  minori  ad  majus  was  valid  only 
as  applied  to  matters  the  same  in  kind,  and  not  to  those  differing  in 
kind  ;  else  we  might  argue  that  he  who  can  beget  a  man,  can  much 
more  beget  a  fly :  he  who  is  a  curer  of  souls,  can  much  more  cure  the 
body. 

Moreover,  to  the  historical  facts,  which  the  defenders  of  an  unlim- 
ited papacy  construed  so  as  to  accord  with  their  own  interests,  this 
writer  assigned  their  legitimate  place  ;  as,  for  example,  to  the  depos- 
ition of  Childeric  III.  by  Pope  Zacharias.  "It  is  nowhere  read," 
Aegidius,  "  that  the  pope  deposed  him,  but  only  that  he  advised 
to  that  step.  It  was  by  the  estates  of  the  realm  that  Childeric  was 
deposed,  and  Pipin  proclaimed  in  his  place;  but  they  could  have  done 
the  same  thing  without  the  pope's  advice." 

i  lie  second  of  the  above  mentioned  individuals,  John  of  Paris,  in 
his  treatise  of  Royal  and  Papal  authority,1  speaks  of  two  errors,  which 

1  Dc  potestate  regia  et  papali,  in  the  above  cited  Collection  of  Goldast  torn.  II. 


16  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

he  represents  as  running  into  opposite  extremes ;  the  opinion  of  the 
Waldenses,  that  the  pope  and  prelates  ought  not  to  exercise  secular 
dominion  of  any  kind  ;  and  the  opinion  of  those  who  considered  Christ's 
kingdom  an  earthly  one.  Of  these  latter,  he  points  to  Herod  I. 
as  the  representative  ;  for  when  he  heard  that  Messiah  the  King  was 
born,  he  could  conceive  of  nothing  but  an  earthly  king.  "  Just  so," 
he  says,  "  in  modern  times,  many  in  trying  to  avoid  the  error  of  the 
Waldenses,  fall  into  the  opposite  extreme  of  considering  the  pope  to 
be  vicar  of  Christ,  as  having  dominion  over  the  earthly  goods  of 
princes,  and  of  ascribing  to  him  such  a  jurisdiction."  This  doctrine, 
he  thinks,  would  lead  to  the  error  of  Vigilantius ;  for  it  would  follow 
from  it,  that  renunciation  of  earthly  power  and  earthly  rule  contra- 
dicted the  vocation  of  the  pope  as  vicar  of  Christ :  whence,  again,  it 
would  follow,  that  such  renunciation  was  no  part  of  evangelical  perfec- 
tion. This  opinion  seems  to  him  to  savor  somewhat  of  the  pride  of 
the  Pharisees,  who  taught  that  if  the  people  paid  tythes  and  offerings 
to  God,  they  were  under  no  obligation  to  pay  tribute  to  Caesar.  He 
describes  it  as  dangerous,  because  it  removes  the  right  of  property 
which  they  previously  possessed  from  such  as  are  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  transfers  it  to  the  pope.  It  would  reflect  discredit  on  the 
Christian  faith,  which  would  thus  seem  to  stand  in  conflict  with  social 
order ;  and  it  was  to  be  feared  that  when  traffic  thus  found  entrance 
into  the  house  of  God,  Christ  would  lay  hold  of  the  scourge  to  purify 
the  temple.  The  truth,  however,  was  represented  as  lying  in  the 
middle  between  these  two  errors.  It  was  this,  that  secular  rule  and 
worldly  possessions  were  in  no  wise  inconsistent  with  the  calling  of  the 
pope  or  the  prelates  ;  but  still  they  were  in  no  res,pect  necessarily  im- 
plied in  that  vocation ;  but  were  only  permissible,  and  might  be  used, 
when  bestowed  either  by  the  devotion  of  Christians  or  from  any  other 
quarter. 

In  separating  the  two  powers,  the  author  makes  use  of  that  distinc- 
tion between  the  natural  and  supernatural  destination  of  man,  of  which 
we  spoke  in  giving  the  history  of  scholastic  theology  in  the  preceding 
period.1  Answering  to  the  one,  is  the  realization  of  the  end  which  the 
State  proposes,  by  means  of  the  natural  virtues ;  for  this  object  civil 
government  is  instituted.  Answering  to  the  other,  is  the  destination 
to  life  eternal ;  and  for  this  the  spiritual  power  has  been  established. 
Both  powers  are  derived  immediately  from  the  supreme,  divine  power. 
And  he,  like  Aegidius,  refutes  the  argument,  that  because  one  is  a 
superior,  the  other  an  inferior  province,  the  latter  must  therefore  be 
subject  to  the  former.  The  priest,  in  spiritual  things,  was  greater  than 
the  prince  ;  but  in  temporal  things,  the  prince  was  greater  than  the 
priest ;  though  absolutely  considered,  the  priest  was  the  greater  of  the 
two.  It  is  maintained  that  the  pope  has  no  power  of  control  even  over 
the  goods  of  the  church.  These  were  bestowed  by  certain  individ- 
uals, Avho  gave  them  to  the  church  in  behalf  of  the  ecclesiastical  com- 
monwealth, for  the  furtherance  of  its  ends  ;  to  this  commonwealth  alone 

1  Vgl.  Bd.  X.  s.  953  ff. 


JOHN    OF    PARIS.  17 

they  belonged.  The  administration  of  this  trust  devolved  solely  on  the 
prelates,  and  the  pope  had  the  general  direction  of  this  administration. 
Hence  he  concludes  that  the  pope  could  in  no  wise  dispose  of  the  goods 
of  the  church  at  will,  so  that  whatever  he  should  ordain  about  them  must 
be  obligatory  ;  but  the  power  conferred  on  him  related  simply  to  the 
wants  or  to  the  advantage  of  the  universal  church.  As  a  monastery 
could  deprive  its  abbot,  a  particular  church  its  bishop,  if  it  was  proved 
that  the  former  squandered  the  goods  of  the  monastery,  the  latter  the 
property  of  the  church,  so  too  the  pope,  if  found  guilty  of  any  such 
unfaithful  administration,  and  if  after  being  admonished,  he  did  not 
reform,  might  be  deposed  :  whereupon  he  adds,  "  But,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  others,  this  could  only  be  done,  perhaps,  by  a  general  coun- 
cil." John  of  Paris  cites  a  doctrine  held  forth  by  the  advocates  of 
papal  absolutism,  that  even  though  one  rightfully  opposed  the  arbitrary 
will  of  the  pope  in  the  administration  of  church  property,  still  the  lat- 
ter might  remove  him  from  his  office.  He  says,  on  the  other  hand, 
"  They  lift  their  mouths  against  heaven,  and  do  foul  wrong  to  the  pope, 
who  thus  make  his  will  a  disorderly,  arbitrary  will,  when  it  is  to  be 
presumed'  that  the  will  of  so  great  a  father  can  never  be  so  in  conflict 
with  justice,  as  that  he  should,  without  good  and  sufficient  reasons, 
take  away  his  own  from  any  one  ;  for  God  never  takes  from  any  one 
that  which  he  has  given  him,  except  for  his  own  fault.  As  the  govern- 
ment of  Christ  is  not  a  worldly  one,  so  he  maintained  the  vicarship  of 
the  pope  could  not  relate  to  the  things  of  the  world.  Christ  rules  in 
the  faithful,  only  through  that  which  is  highest  in  them,  through  the 
spirit  which  has  submitted  to  the  obedience  of  faith.  His  kingdom  is 
a  spiritual  one,  having  its  foundation  in  the  hearts  of  men,  not  in  their 
possessions. 

We  have  seen,  that  by  the  advocates  of  papal  absolutism,  a  distinc- 
tion was  made  between  the  secular  power  in  itself,  and  in  its  exercise  ; 
so  that  the  former  was  held  to  proceed  immediately  from  the  pope,  but 
the  latter  to  depend  wholly  upon  the  sovereigns,  to  have  been  conferred 
by  God  on  them  alone.  This  distinction  John  of  Paris  declares  to  be 
absurd  and  inconsistent  It  would  follow  from  it,  says  he,  that  the 
princes  were  also  called  upon  to  judge  how  the  pope  ■  exercised  his 
power,  and  that  they  might  deprive  him  of  it ;  which,  however,  is  de- 
nied by  these  men  when  they  assert  that  the  pope  can  be  judged  by 
no  man.  And  how  is  the  pope  to  receive  from  princes  what  does  not 
belong  to  him  by  the  ordinance  of  God  ?  and  how  is  he  to  give  them 
what  lie  himself  receives  from  them  ?  The  princes,  according  to  this 
doctrine,  would  be  servants  of  the  pope,  as  the  pope  is  the  servant  of 
God,  which  contradicts  what  is  said  in  Rom.  xiii,  about  magistrates 
being  ordained  of  God.  Moreover,  the  power  of  rulers  was,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  both  in  itself  and  in  its  exercise,  prior  in  time  to  the 
power  of  the  pope. 

lie  also  stood  up  in  defence  of  the  independent  power  of  the  bish- 
ops and  priests,  and  denied  that  this  was  derived  from  God  only 
through  the  mediation  of  the  pope,  maintaining,  that  it  springs  directly 
from  God,  through  the  choice  or  concurrence  of  the  communities.  For 
9* 


18  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

it  was  not  Peter,  whose  successsor  is  the  pope,  that  sent  forth  the 
other  apostles,  whose  successors  are  the  bishops  ;  or  who  sent  forth  the 
seventy  disciples,  whose  successors  are  the  parish  priests ;  but  Christ 
himself  did  this  directly.  It  was  not  Peter  who  detained  the  apostles 
in  order  to  impart  to  them  the  Holy  Ghost ;  it  was  not  he  who  gave 
them  power  to  forgive  sins  ;  but  Christ.  Nor  did  Paul  say,  that  he 
received  from  Peter  his  apostolical  office  ;  but  he  said  that  it  came  to 
him  directly  from  Christ  or  from  God  ;  that  three  years  had 
elapsed  after  he  received  his  commission  to  preach  the  gospel,  before 
he  had  an  interview  with  Peter. 

He  maintains  again,  that  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  has  reference 
solely  to  things  spiritual.  The  most  extreme  penalty  which  the  pope 
could  threaten  was  excommunication ;  all  else  was  but  a  consequence 
accidentally  connected  with  that  penalty.  Thus  he  could  only  ope- 
rate indirectly,  so  that  the  person  on  whom  he  pronounced  sentence 
of  excommunication  for  some  offence  coming  under  his  jurisdiction, 
might  be  deposed,  in  case  he  threatened  to  put  under  ban  all  who 
should  obey  him  as  sovereign,  and  thus  brought  about  his  removal  by 
means  of  the  people.  But  similar  to  this,  was  the  relation  of  rulers 
also  to  the  pope,  considered  with  reference  to  the  particular  provinces 
of  their  power.  If  the  pope  gave  scandal  to  the  church,  and  showed 
himself  incorrigible,  it  was  in  the  power  of  secular  rulers  to  bring 
about  his  abdication  or  his  deposition  by  means  of  their  influence  on 
him  or  on  his  cardinals.  And  if  the  pope  would  not  yield,  the  empe- 
ror might  so  manage  as  to  compel  him  to  yield.  He  might  command 
the  people,  under  severe  penalties,  to  refuse  obedience  to  him  as  pope. 
Thus  both  pope  and  emperor  could  proceed  one  against  the  other  ;  for 
both  had  a  general  jurisdiction,  the  emperor  in  temporal,  the  pope  in 
spiritual  things.  At  the  same  time  he  expressly  declares,  that  all  he 
had  said  respecting  this  power  of  the  pope  over  princes  could  relate 
only  to  such  things  as  came  under  spiritual  jurisdiction ;  such  as  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  marriage-covenant,  and  matters  of  faith.  But  when 
a  king  violated  his  obligations,  as  a  ruler,  it  was  not  in  the  pope's 
power  to  correct  this  evil  directly.  All  that  he  could  do  was  to  apply 
to  the  estates  of  the  realm  ;  but  if  these  could  not  or  dared  not  correct 
their  sovereign,  they  were  authorized  to  invoke  the  assistance  of  the 
church.  So  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  pope  transgressed  in  temporal 
things,  the  investigation  of  which  belonged  to  the  civil  jurisdiction,  the 
emperor  had  a  right  first  to  correct  him  by  admonition,  and  then  to 
punish  him,  by  virtue  of  his  authority  as  a  minister  of  God  to  execute 
wrath  on  evil-doers.  Rom.  xiii.  But  if  the  pope  did  wrong  in  spirit- 
ual things,  if  he  committed  simony,  encroached  on  the  rights  of  the 
church,  taught  false  doctrines,  he  ought  first  to  be  set  right  by  the  car- 
dinals, standing,  as  they  did,  at  the  head  of  the  clerus.  But  if  he 
proved  incorrigible,  and  they  had  not  the  power  to  rid  the  church  of 
the  scandal,  they  were  bound  to  invoke  the  assistance  of  the  secular 
arm,  and  the  emperor  might  employ  against  the  pope  the  powers  which 
God  had  put  into  his  hands.  He  refers,  for  an  example,  to  the  deposi- 
tion of  Pope  John  XII.  by  the  emperor  Otho  I.      When  the  de- 


JOHN    OF    PAKIS.  —  BENEDICT    XI.  19 

fenders  of  papal  absolutism  took  the  passage  in  the  first  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  and  perverted  it  to  their  purpose,  "  He  that  is  spiritual 
judgeth  all  things,  but  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man,"  he  replied  : 
"  The  passage  has  no  such  application,  for  the  apostle  is  only  speaking 
of  persons  spiritually  minded  ;  but  the  possessor  of  the  spiritual  power 
is  not  always  such  a  person.  Furthermore,  he  asserts  that  the  unity  of 
the  church,  as  one  spiritual  body,  is  not  founded  on  Peter  or  on  Linus, 
but  on  Christ,  Avho  alone  is  in  the  proper  and  highest  sense  the  head 
of  the  church  :  from  whom  are  derived  the  two  powers,  in  a  certain 
series  of  gradations  ;  yet  the  pope  might,  in  reference  to  the  outward 
service  of  the  church,  be  called  head  of  the  church  ;  inasmuch  as  he 
is  the  first  among  her  servants,  the  one  on  whom,  as  the  first  vicar  of 
Christ  in  spiritual  things,  the  whole  regular  series  of  church  ministers 
depends.  He  disputes  the  binding  force  of  the  pretended  gift  of  Con- 
stantine  to  Pope  Silvester.  He  declares  this  gift  a  preposterous  one  ; 
and  cites  a  legend,  frequently  alluded  to  by  the  opponents  of  the  pa- 
pacy, that  at  the  time  of  this  gift  the  voice  of  an  angel  was  heard 
saying,  To-day  a  vial  of  poison  has  been  poured  upon  the  church. 

John  of  Paris  finally  enters  into  a  particular  investigation  of  the 
question  whether  the  pope  can  be  deposed,  or  can  abdicate.  What 
conclusions  he  must  have  arrived  at  on  this  point,  may  be  gathered 
from  the  preceding  remarks.  He  distinctly  affirmed,  that  as  the  pa- 
pacy existed  only  for  the  benefit  of  the  church,  the  pope  ought  to  lay 
down  his  office  whenever  it  obstructed  this  end,  the  highest  end  of 
christian  love. 

Such  were  the  most  noticeable  of  the  immediate  consequences  result- 
ing from  the  high  pretensions  set  up  for  the  papal  power  by  Boniface 
Viil.  We  see  expressed  here  for  the  first  time,  in  opposition  to 
the  arbitrary  will  of  the  pope,  principles,  by  the  operation  of  which, 
in  the  midst  of  the  events  with  which  this  century  closed,  a  new  shap- 
ing could  not  fail  to  be  given  to  the  laws  and  constitutions  of  the 
church. 

The  successor  of  Boniface,  a  very  different  man  from  himself,  was 
Benedict  XL,  a  Dominican,  who,  up  to  this  time,  had  lived  strictly 
according  to  the  rule  of  his  order.  As  a  pope,  too,  he  showed  a  be- 
coming zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  church,  and  sought  to  correct  the 
evils  occasioned  by  the  arbitrary  will  of  his  predecessor.  He  did  eve- 
rything he  could  honorably  do,  to  restore  a  good  understanding  with 
the  French  government.  But  it  was  only  for  the  short  period  of  eight 
months  that  he  was  permitted  to  rule.  He  died  in  1304  ;  and  a  re- 
port prevailed  that  he  was  poisoned  by  the  cardinals  ; ]  a  noticeable 
sign  of  the  times,  when  reports  like  these  —  a  similar  one  prevailed 
about  the  death  of  Celestin  V.  —  were  so  repeatedly  noised 
id.  A  great  fermentation  would  necessarily  ensue  at  the  election 
of  a  new  pope.  It  was  known  that  the  exasperated  king  of  France 
still  cherished  sentiments  of  revenge  against  Boniface  VIII.,  and 
determined  to  have  him  convicted  and  condemned,  as  a  heretic, 

1  See  Villani,  lib.  8,  cap.  80. 


20  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH     CONSTITUTION. 

even  after  his  death.  The  party  of  Boniface  had  to  strain  every 
nerve  to  vindicate  his  honor.  Thus  the  election  of  a  pope  was  retard- 
ed by  the  contest  between  an  Italian  party,  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  Boniface,  and  a  French  party.  Nine  months  had  this  schism  last- 
ed, when  the  cunning  and  sagacious  cardinal  da  Prato  (du  Prat),  who 
led  the  French  party,  proposed  a  plan  by  which  they  might  come  to- 
gether and  unite  in  a  choice.  The  other  party,  the  Italians,  should 
nominate  three  candidates  from  their  own  number,  and  out  of  these 
one  should  be  chosen  by  the  French  within  forty  days.  The  Italian 
party  doubtless  thought  themselves  secure  of  the  victory  ;  for  they 
selected  three  men,  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  rank  of  cardinals 
by  Boniface  VIII.,  to  whom  they  were  thoroughly  devoted,  and  at 
the  same  time,  fiercely  inimical  to  the  king  of  France.  But  the  car- 
dinal du  Prat  outwitted  them.  He  knew  his  men.  He  knew  how  to 
find  among  the  selected  three,  one  who  was  ready  to  pay  any  price 
that  might  be  asked  for  the  gratification  of  his  ambition.  This  was 
Bertrand  d'Agoust,  bishop  of  Bordeaux,  who  was  reckoned  among  the 
most  zealous  adherents  of  Boniface,  and  the  most  violent  enemies  of 
king  Philip.  With  the  latter  he  had  had  a  personal  quarrel.  The 
cardinal  du  Prat  reported  to  the  king  of  France,  as  speedily  as  possi- 
ble, all  that  had  transpired,  and  explained  to  him  how  it  now  stood  in  his 
own  power  to  create  the  pope.  He  might  offer  the  papal  dignity  to 
the  archbishop  of  Bordeaux  on  whatever  terms  he  thought  proper.  The 
king  sought  an  interview  with  the  much  surprised  bishop.  He  showed 
him  what  he  could  do.  He  offered  him  the  papal  dignity  on  condition 
of  his  compliance  with  six  conditions.  Among  them  were  the  follow- 
ing :  That  he  should  reconcile  the  king  and  his  friends  to  the  church  ; 
pardon  everything  that  had  taken  place ;  give  up  to  him  for  five  years 
the  tenths  in  his  whole  kingdom  to  defray  the  expenses  of  war  ;  restore 
to  the  Colonnas  their  cardinal  dignities ;  moreover,  that  he  should  pro- 
mote several  of  the  king's  friends  to  the  same  rank,  and  institute  an 
investigation  into  the  heresies  of  Boniface.  There  was  still  a  sixth 
condition  which,  for  the  present,  was  to  be  kept  a  profound  secret. 
Perilous  as  several  of  these  conditions  must  have  been  to  the  papal 
and  christian  conscience  of  the  pope,  yet  he  was  ready  to  sell  his  soul 
for  the  papal  dignity,  and  he  accepted  them  all.  This  was  done  in 
the  year  lo05.  He  called  himself  pope  Clement  V.  To  the  great 
vexation  of  the  Italian  cardinals  he  did  not  come  to  Rome,  but  re- 
mained at  home  in  France,  and  had  the  ceremony  of  his  coronation 
performed  in  Lyons.  The  way  in  which  he  administered  the  papal 
government,  corresponded  entirely  to  the  way  in  which  he  had  obtain- 
ed it.  What  the  Italians  had  predicted,  when  the  pope,  in  despite  of 
every  invitation,  refused  to  leave  France,  actually  took  place.  Rome 
did  not  very  soon  again  become  the  seat  of  the  papacy.  From  the 
year  lo09  and  onward  this  seat  was  transferred  to  Avignon  ;  and  here 
begins  a  new  important  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  papacy,  the  seventy 
years  residence  of  the  popes  in  Avignon.  Let  us  in  the  first  place 
take  a  general  view  of  the  consequences  of  these  exceedingly  influen- 
tial events. 


ELECTION    OF    CLEMENT    V.  21 

As  the  independence  of  the  seat  of  the  papal  government  in  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  world  had  largely  contributed  towards  promoting 
the  triumph  of  the  papacy  ;  so  the  dependence,  into  which  the  popes  fell 
when  removed  at  a  distance  from  the  ancient  seat  of  their  spiritual 
sovereignty,  led  to  consequences  of  an  opposite  kind.  With  Clement 
V.  began  this  disgraceful  servility  of  popes  dependant  on  the  interests 
of  France  ;  a  situation  for  which  Clement  had  prepared  the  way  by 
the  manner  in  which  he  obtained  the  papal  dignity.  The  popes  at 
Avignon  were  often  little  better  than  tools  of  the  French  kings,  who 
used  their  spiritual  power  to  promote  the  ends  of  French  policy. 
They  served  those  kings  in  matters  which  stood  in  most  direct  contra- 
diction to  their  spiritual  vocation.  They  could  not  fail  to  make  them- 
selves odious  and  contemptible  by  the  manner  in  which  they  acted  in 
these  relations.  The  papal  court  at  Avignon  became  the  seat  of  a 
still  greater  corruption  than  had  disgraced  the  papal  court  in  Rome. 
The  popes  at  Avignon  took  the  liberty  to  elevate  to  the  highest  spirit- 
ual dignities,  to  the  rank  of  cardinals,  persons  the  least  fitted  by  age, 
by  character,  or  by  education  for  such  stations,  —  the  most  worthless 
of  men,  either  their  own  nephews,  or  persons  recommended  to  them  by 
the  French  court ;  and  these  Avignonese  cardinals  were  in  the  habit 
of  abandoning  themselves  to  every  species  of  luxury  and  debauchery. 
The  extortions  which,  to  the  ruin  of  the  church,  were  practised  by  the 
Roman  court,  rose  to  a  continually  higher  pitch  and  extended  over  a 
greater  compass,  from  the  time  of  Clement  V.,  who  already  provoked 
thereby  many  complaints  in  France.  The  example  of  a  wasteful  ex- 
penditure of  church  property,  of  simony  and  cupidity,  here  given  by 
the  popes,  found  ready  imitation  in  other  churches,  and  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  church  in  all  parts  grew  more  atrocious  every  day.  The 
popes  at  Avignon  would  abate  nothing  from  the  old  system  of  the 
papal  hierarchy,  but  rather  pushed  its  pretensions  to  still  greater 
lengths.  But  the  want  which  they  betrayed  of  spiritual  dignity,  the 
bad  use  they  made  of  their  power,  the  merely  secular  interest  by  which 
they  were  so  manifestly  governed,  stood  in  direct  contradiction  with 
the  tone  in  which  they  spoke.  The  quarrels  in  which  they  involved 
themselves  by  their  exercise  of  the  papal  power,  brought  it  about,  that 
all  the  wickedness  which  reigned  in  the  papal  court  at  Avignon,  and 
which  spread  from  that  spot  into  the  rest  of  the  church,  became 
matter  of  common  conversation.  These  quarrels  served  to  call  forth 
many  more  of  those  voices  of  freedom,  such  as  had  first  been  heard 
during  the  contests  with  Boniface  VIII. ;  and  still  bolder  opinions 
wore  expressed.  A  powerful  reaction  gradually  forced  a  way  for  it- 
self against  the  papal  monarchy.  Add  to  this,  that  the  freer  church- 
ly  spirit,  which  from  the  earliest  times  we  perceive  in  the  Gallic 
church,  and  which  was  never  in  want  for  means  of  expressing  itself, 
obtained  at  this  particular  crisis  a  mighty  organ  in  the  university  of 
Paris.  At  this  university,  which  in  the  period  before  us  formed  so 
important  a  corporation,  there  was  gradually  developing  itself  an  inde- 
pendent and  liberal  theological  tendency.  By  the  men  of  this  univer- 
sity, the  conduct  of  the  popes  and  their  relations  at  Avignon,  were 


22  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

keenly  watched.  The  popes  found  severe  judges  in  them.  "While 
the  French  cardinals  could  not  tear  themselves  away  from  their  plea- 
sures at  Avignon,  and  from  the  territory  of' France,  nothing  was  more 
hateful  to  the  Italian  cardinals  than  what  appeared  to  their  eyes,  a 
most  lamentable  exile  of  the  Roman  court.  Nothing  appeared  to 
them  a  greater  scandal,  than  that  dependance  on  French  interests. 
This  opposition  between  the  two  parties  prepared  the  way  for  a  schism, 
which  was  soon  to  break  out,  and  which  drew  after  it  the  most  impor- 
tant consequences. 

Clement  had  soon  to  experience  some  of  the  deplorable  effects 
resulting  from  the  relation,  in  which  he  had  voluntarily  placed  himself 
to  King  Philip.  After  the  death  of  the  emperor  Albert  I.,  in  the 
year  1308,  King  Philip  conceived  the  plan  of  elevating  his  brother, 
Prince  Charles  de  Valois,  to  the  imperial  throne  ;  and  the  pope  was  to 
serve  as  the  instrument  for  carrying  it  into  execution.  This,  it  was 
said,  was  the  condition  that  had  been  kept  so  profound  a  secret.  The 
king  intended  to  take  the  pope  by  surprise,  to  come  upon  him  sud- 
denly, with  a  numerous  train  of  armed  followers.  But  the  plan  was 
divulged  to  the  pope.  As  the  Italian  historian  in  this  period,  Villani, 
expresses  himself ;  —  "It  pleased  God,  so  to  order  it,  that  the  Roman 
church  should  not  thus  be  wholly  subjected  to  the  court  of  France  ; "  ' 
for,  had  this  project  been  carried  out,  the  servitude  of  the  pope  would 
have  been  doubled.  Now,  as  the  pope  had  not  courage  enough  to 
take  an  open  stand  against  the  king,  he  resorted,  by  the  advice  of  the 
crafty  du  Prat,  to  trick  and  deception,  for  the  purpose  of  defeating 
the  king's  object.  While  he  ostensibly  granted  the  king's  request,  he 
secretly  invited  the  German  princes  to  hasten  the  emperor's  election, 
and  gave  his  vote  for  Count  Henry  of  Luxemburg.  The  latter,  Henry 
VII.,  was  elected  emperor;  and  Philip  saw  his  favorite  plan  defeated. 
He  now  pressed  the  more  urgently  to  have  the  process  begun  against 
Boniface.  The  weak  pope  was  obliged  to  permit  that,  in  the  year 
1310,  the  matter  should  be  tight  before  the  papal  consistory.  By 
the  enemies  of  Boniface  the  most  atrocious  things  were  charged  against 
him.  This,  under  the  existing  circumstances,  could  not  fail  to  give 
great  scandal  to  many.  From  several  quarters,  particularly  from  Ar- 
ragon  and  Spain,  complaints  were  uttered  against  so  scandalous  a 
spectacle  ;  and  the  pope  was  called  upon  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  Under 
the  pretext  that  a  general  council  was  to  be  convoked  at  Vienne,  and 
that  there  these  affairs  could  be  transacted  with  far  greater  publicity 
and  solemnity,  he  induced  King  Philip,  finally,  to  consent  that  the 
affair  should  be  put  off  to  the  above-mentioned  council.  At  this  coun- 
cil in  Vienne,  which  met  in  the  year  1311,  the  memory  of  Boniface 
was  at  length  solemnly  vindicated.  But  the  joope,  moreover,  put  forth 
a  declaration,  placing  the  king  in  security  against  all  the  consequences 
which  might  flow  from  his  acts  against  Boniface,  and,  from  the  bulls 
put  forth  by  Boniface  all  those  clauses  were  expunged  or  altered, 
which  were  hostile  to  French  interests. 

1  Comu  piacque  a  Dio,  per  non  volere     toposta  alia  casa  di  Francia.     Villani,  lib. 
che  la  Chiesa  di  Roma  fosse  al  tutto  sot-     8,  c.  101,  fol.  437 


POPES    AT    AVIGNON     (JOHN    XII.)  23 

At  the  council  of  Vienne  was  terminated  also  another  affair  in  which 
Clement  had,  in  the  most  shameful  manner,  submitted  to  be  used  as  a 
tool  of  the  French  king.  The  order  of  the  Knights  Templar  had,  by 
the  power  and  wealth  of  their  establishments,  excited  the  jealousy  of 
many.  Various  rumors  were  afloat  respecting  this  order,  —  rumors 
which  are  the  less  to  be  trusted,  because  we  find  in  times  the  most 
widelv  remote  from  each  other  similar  reports  concerning  societies  veil- 
ed from  the  popular  eye,  and  which  in  some  way  or  other  have  incurred 
the  popular  odium  —  whispers  of  unnatural  abominations,  supposed  to 
be  practised  in  their  secret  conclaves.  Persons  of  that  order  guilty 
of  criminal  offences,  had,  while  in  prison,  preferred  charges  against  it, 
with  a  view  to  procure  their  own  release.  King  Philip  the  Fair  would, 
no  doubt,  be  glad  to  believe  anything  which  would  put  it  in  his  power 
to  lay  hold  of  the  property  of  the  order.  In  the  year  1307,  he  caused 
all  the  Knights  Templar  in  France  to  be  arrested.  The  trials  were  con- 
ducted in  the  most  arbitrary  manner.  At  first,  the  pope  complained  that 
the  king  should  bring  before  a  civil  tribunal  a  suit  against  a  spiritual  or- 
der, accusations  relating  to  heresy  and  infidelity.  He  entered  a  protest 
against  the  procedure  of  the  king ;  but  had  not  courage  to  follow 
up  the  step  he  had  taken.  At  length,  in  the  year  130S,  he  joined  the 
king  in  carrying  on  a  common  process.  There  has  been  much  dispute 
respecting  this  affair.  But  even  though  individuals  of  the  order  may 
have  been  guilty  of  various  excesses,  may  by  reason  of  their  residence 
in  the  East,  have  fallen  into  infidelity,  yet  no  sufficient  reason  appears 
to  have  existed  for  condemning  the  order  at  large.  Expressions,  for 
the  most  part  extorted  by  the  rack,  and  which  were  often  taken  back 
in  the  extremity  of  death,  ought  not,  surely,  to  pass  for  good  evidence. 
Indeed,  when  justice  is  so  arbitrarily  administered,  what  evidence  of 
guilt  can  be  deemed  satisfactory?  Now,  when  many  of  the  Knights 
Templar  had  already  fallen  victims  to  mere  tyrannical  will,  Clement,  at 
a  council  in  the  year  1311,  declared  the  order  abolished.  Clement 
died  in  1314,  leaving  behind  him  a  bad  reputation,  not  merely  among 
the  Italians,  who  could  not  pardon  in  him  the  transportation  of  the 
papal  court  to  Avignon,  but  also  among  the  French.  The  judgment 
passed  upon  him  we  may  doubtless  regard  as  an  unanimous  one.1  The 
Italian  historian,  Villani,  says  of  him,  that  he  was  very  greedy  of 
money,  given  to  simony,  and  to  luxury.  Respecting  his  morals,  unfa- 
vorable rumors  were  afloat.  All  benefices  were  said  to  be  disposed  of 
for  money.2 

When,  owing  to  the  division  among  the  cardinals,  the  papal  chair 
had  remained  vacant  during  a  period  of  two  years,  the  French  party 
once  more  triumphed,  and  John  XXII.,  another  Frenchman,  succeeded 
in  mounting  the  papal  throne.  Like  his  predecessor,  this  pope  was 
bent  on  indemnifying  himself  for  his  dependance  on  France,  by  main- 
taining the  papal  absolutism  in  relation  to  Germany.  On  the  occasion 
of  a  contest  for  the  election  of  an  emperor  —  between  the  Archduke 

1   Compare  the  two  accounts  of  his  life    Avign.  torn.  I,  ami  what  Villani  Bays. 

which  Baluz  has  published  in  the  vit.  pap.         '2  Villani,  lib.  9,  c.  58. 


24  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

Frederic  of  Austria  on  the  one  side,  and  Duke  Louis  of  Bavaria  on 
the  other — the  pope  was  desirous  of  securing  the  decision  to  himself. 
He  wanted  that  everything  should  depend  on  Ms  vote.  He  would  not 
pardon  it  in  Duke  Louis  (Louis  IV.)  that  he  should  be  so  confident 
of  his  power,  as  to  act  as  emperor,  without  waiting  for  the  pope's  de- 
termination :  that  he  should  form  an  alliance  with  the  pope's  enemies, 
the  Ghibellines  in  Italy.  Negotiations  were  of  no  avail.  The  matter 
proceeded  onward  till  it  came  to  a  war  of  ever  increasing  animosity 
between  the  pope  and  the  emperor.  The  former  pronounced  the 
emperor  under  ban,  in  denunciations  growing  continually  more  violent, 
and  laid  all  those  portions  of  Germany  where  he  was  recognized  as 
emperor,  under  the  interdict.  The  emperor  appealed  from  the  pope 
to  a  general  council,  before  which  he  might  be  allowed  to  prove  the 
justice  of  his  cause  to  holy  church  and  the  apostolical  see.  Fierce 
struggles  in  Germany  followed  as  the  consequence  ;  and  amid  these 
contests  many  freer  voices  caused  themselves  to  be  heard.  By  some, 
the  interdict  was  observed  ;  by  others,  not.  In  many  districts,  eccle- 
siastics, who  were  for  observing  the  interdict,  were  banished.1  The 
emperor,  in  the  year  1327,  followed  the  invitation  of  his  friends  in 
Italy  and  Rome,  the  Ghibellines,  who  invited  him  into  that  country. 
This  expedition  of  the  emperor  was  attended  with  consequences  of 
great  moment  to  the  general  progress  of  religion.  Pope  John  had 
provoked  dissatisfaction  in  many,  and  these  took  the  side  of  the  em- 
peror. Under  his  protection,  free-minded  men  could  express  them- 
selves in  a  way  which  elsewhere  would  not  have  been  suffered  to  go 
unpunished.  Various  matters  of  dispute  were  here  brought  together, 
and  placed  in  connection  with  the  contest  which  was  now  waging  be- 
tween the  papacy  and  the  empire,  the  church  and  the  secular  power,  the 
spiritual  and  the  secular  interest.  We  have,  in  the  preceding  period, 
spoken  of  the  controversies  between  the  more  rigid  and  the  laxer  party 
of  the  Franciscans.  We  saw  how  the  more  rigid  Franciscans,  in  their 
contests  with  the  popes,  had  been  led  into  a  course  of  reaction  against 
the  secularization  of  the  church.  Pope  John  XXII.,  who,  with  his 
obstinate  temper,  was  bent  on  deciding  all  uncertain  matters,  had  stirr- 
ed up  these  controversies  anew,  by  taking  part  against  the  more  rigid 
'  Franciscans.  He  refused  to  recognize  a  distinction  set  forth  by  some, 
that  while  Christ  and  the  apostles  made  use  of  earthly  goods,  they  did 
not  in  any  proper  sense  own  anything — the  distinction  between  a  bare 
usufruct,  and  an  earthly  possession  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense.  The 
more  rigid  Franciscans  rebelled  against  his  decisions,  and  even  had 
the   boldness  to  accuse  him  of  heresy.     There  were  among  them  at 

1  See  the  Chronicle  of  the  Franciscan  mutually  accused  each  other  of  heresy  on 

John    of  Winterthur :  Et   interim   clerus  account   of  their  different  modes  of  pro 

gravitur  fuit  angariatus  et  compulsus  ad  cedure  :  Illae  mutuo  se  sinistre  judicabant, 

diviua  resumenda,   et    plures  annuerunt,  mutuo  sibi  non  communicabant,  sed  fre- 

non  verentes  latam  sententiam,  nee  ultio-  quenter  se  excludebant,  unaquseque  suo 

nem  divinam.     Multi  etiam  erant  inobedi-  sensu  secundum  verbum  apostoli  quasi  di- 

entes,  et  ob  hoc  de  locis  suis  expulsi,  et  sic  cam  abundabat.     Thesaur.  hist,  helvit.  Ti- 

tandem  facta  fuit  lamentabilis  difformitas  guri,  1 735,  p.  29. 
ecclesiarum.    And  of  the   churches   that 


JOHN    XXII.    "  DEFNESOR    PACIS."  25 

that  time  men  of  courage  and  sagacity,  such  as  Michael  of  Chesena, 
general  of  the  order,  who  was  deposed  by  the  pope  ;  William  Occam 
of  England,  distinguished  among  the  philosophers  and  theologians  of 
his  time.  All  these  embraced  the  party  of  the  emperor.  Occam  said 
to  him :  "  Defend  me  with  the  sword,  and  I  will  defend  you  with  the 
pen."  The  inquiries  respecting  evangelical  perfection,  respecting  the 
following  after  Christ,  the  different  modes  of  the  possession  of  proper- 
ty, were  easily  connected  with  the  inquiries  respecting  the  relation  of 
spiritual  things  to  secular  in  general.  Especially  worthy  of  notice  is 
a  work  which  was  called  forth  by  these  disputes,  the  title  of  which  in- 
dicates its  contents  —  Defensor  Pads.  Its  object  was  to  show  that, 
inasmuch  as  church  and  state  had  their  natural  limits  severally  as- 
signed to  them,  the  peace  between  the  two  should  theredy  be  defin- 
itively settled.  Its  author  was  the  emperor's  physician  and  theologian, 
Marsilius  of  Padua,  earlier  rector  of  the  University  of  Paris.  It  is 
true,  John  of  Janduno,  in  Champagne,  a  Franciscan,  is  also  mentioned 
as  co-author  of  this  book  ;  and  doubtless  he  may  have  had  some  share 
in  its  composition  ;  but  at  all  events,  the  work  itself  indicates  plainly 
enough  that  it  is  the  product  of  one  mind,  and  of  an  individual  who 
speaks  of  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  himself.  It  is  in  truth  a  work 
that  made  an  epoch.  Not  merety  the  excesses  of  the  later  papacy 
are  attacked  in  it,  but  the  very  foundations  of  the  hitherto  existing 
fabric  of  the  church  are  assailed. 

A  new  position  is  here  taken  —  an  entirely  new  method  and  way  of 
looking  at  Christian  truth.  The  whole  Old  Testament  theocratical 
element  is  discarded.  This  important  appearance,  the  fore-token  of 
a  new,  protestant  spirit,  such  as  we  could  hardly  expect  to  meet  with 
in  the  times  we  are  speaking  of,  deserves,  therefore,  to  be  somewhat 
more  minutely  considered  by  us. 

The  rock  on  which  the  Church  reposes  he  holds  to  be  Christ  alone, 
its  author  and  founder.1  The  words  of  Christ,  "  Upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church,"  he  refers  to  Christ  himself.  In  reply  to  those 
who  supposed,  that  the  church  destitute  of  a  visible  head  would  be  in 
want  of  something  essential  to  its  organization,  just  as  if  it  were  a  body 
without  a  head,  he  says :  "  Christ  ever  continues  to  be  the  head  of 
the  church  ;  all  apostles  and  ministers  of  the  church  are  but  his  mem- 
bers;" and  he  appeals  in  proof  to  Ephesians  iv.  And  accordingly 
Christ  himself  plainly  said,  that  he  would  be  with  her  to  the  end  of 
the  world.2  The  highest  source  of  knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of 
faith  was,  in  his  view,  the  holy  Scriptures.3  "By  the  apostles"  says 
he,  "  as  organs  immediately  actuated  and  guided  by  divine  power,  the 

1  Qui  caput  est   et  petra,  super   quam  si  earn  absque  capite  in  sui   absentia  reli- 

fandata  est  ecclesia  catholica.     He  refers  quisset,  possuraus   dicere,  quod   Christua 

for  proof  to  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epts-  semper  caput   remansit  ecclesiae,  oinnes- 

tle  to   the  Ephesians,  and  1  Cor.  x.     See  que  apostoli  et  ecclesiastici  ministri  mein- 

p.  246,  cap.  17,  in  Goldasti  inonarchia  Ito-  bra.     L.  1.  p.  801. 
man.  imp.  Fraiuofurt.  1668,  torn.  II.  3  A  sacro  canone  tanquam  a  fonte  veri- 

*  Et  cum    inducebatur,   ecclesiam   ace-  tatis   quaesitaj   facientes    exordium    caet. 

phalam   esse,   aeque  fuisse  ordinatam    a  L.  1.  pag.  252. 
Chrisio  secundum  optimam  dispositionem, 

VOL.    V.  3 


26  PAPACY  AND  CHURCH  CONSTITUTION. 

precepts  and  counsels  guiding  to  eternal  salvation  have  been  commit- 
ted to  writing,  that  in  the  absence  of  Christ  and  the  apostles  we  might 
know  what  they  are."  ]  The  author  takes  his  point  of  departure  from 
a  more  sharply  defined  distinction  of  the  ideas  of  church  and  state. 
The  idea  of  the  state  he  takes  from  an  Ante- Christian  point  of  view, 
inasmuch  as  he  adopts  the  Politics  of  Aristotle,  the  standard  authority 
at  that  time,  for  the  determination  of  such  ideas.  The  state  is  a 
society  of  men  having  reference  to  the  earthly  life  and  its  interests  ;2 
the  church,  a  society  having  reference  to  the  eternal  life  ;  where  we 
find  expressed  the  relation  of  the  natural  to  the  supernatural,  answer- 
ing to  a  distinction  already  noticed  between  the  dona  naturalia  and 
super-addita.  The  state  became  necessary  in  order  to  counteract  sin. 
Had  man  continued  loyal  to  the  divine  will,  no  such  institution  would 
have  been  required-.3  He  finds  the  difference  between  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament  dispensation  to  consist  in  this,  that  under  the  for- 
mer, civil  laws  as  well  as  religious  were  made  known  and  sanctioned 
by  divine  authority.  But  Christ  had  kept  all  these  matters  in  abey- 
ance. He  had  left  them  to  be  settled  by  human  laws,  which  all  the 
faithful  should  obey.  He  refers  for  proof  to  the  words  of  Christ, 
"  Give  to  Ctesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,"  and  to  Romans  xiii.4 
To  the  assertion  that  the  gospel  would  be  an  imperfect  dispensation  if 
civil  relations  could  not  also  be  ordered  and  settled  by  means  of  it ; 
he  replies,  the  two  provinces  ought  clearly  to  be  distinguished.  The 
evangelical  law  is  sufficient  for  its  specific  end,  which  is  to  order  the 
actions  of  men  in  this  present  life  so  as  to  secure  the  life  eternal.  It 
was  not  given  for  the  end  of  determining  law  in  reference  to  the  rela- 
tions of  this  earthly  life.  It  was  for  no  such  end  that  Christ  came 
into  the  world.  Hence  the  necessity  of  distinguishing  different  rules 
of  human  conduct  by  their  relation  to  different  ends.  One  is  a  divine 
rule  which  gives  no  instruction  whatever  about  conducting  suits  in  civil 
law,  and  actions  for  recovery;  nor  yet,  does  it  forbid  this.  And  for 
this  reason  the  gospel  gives  no  particular  precepts  with  regard  to  such 
matters.  This  belongs  to  the  province  of  human  law.  He  refers  for 
illustration  to  the  conduct  of  Christ  in  declining  to  act  as  an  arbitra- 
tor in  the  dispute  concerning  an  inheritance.5     If  any  were  disposed 

1  Per  ipsorum  dietaminaconscripta  sunt  talium  specialiter  continentem,  et  in  hoc 
velut  per  organa  quaedaro  ad  hoc  mota  proportionaliter  se  habentem  humanae  legi 
et  directa  immediate  divina  virtute,  per  quantum  ad  aliquani  sui  partem.  Verum 
quam  siquidem  legem,  praacepta  et  consilia  hujusmodi  praecepta  in  evangelica  lege 
salutis  seteruae  in  ipsius  Christi  atque  apo-  non  tradidit  Christus,  sed  tradiia  vel  tra- 
stolorum  absentia,  comprehendere  valere-  denda  supposuit  in  humanis  legibus 
mus.     L.  1.  p.  168.  quas  observariet  principantibus  secundum 

2  Vivere  et  bene  vivere  mundanum,  ac  eas  omnem  animam  bumanam  obedire 
quae  propter  ipsum  necessaria  sunt.  L.  1.  praeeepit,  in  his  saltern,  quae  non  adver- 
p.  158.  sarentur  legi  salutis.     P.  215. 

J  In  reference  to  man's  primitive  state :  5  Quod   per    legem   evangelicam   suffi- 

in  quo  siquidem  permansisset,  nee  sibi  aut  cienter  dirigimur  in  agendis  aut   deelinan- 

suae  posteritati  necessaria  fuisset   officio-  disin  vita  praesenti,  pro  statu  tamen  ven- 

rum  civilium  institutio  vel  distinctio.     P.  turi   saeculi   seu   aeternae    salutis   conse- 

161.  quendae,  aut  supplicii  declinandi  propter 

4  Mosi  legem  Dcus  tradidit  observando-  quae  lata  est,  non  quidem  pro  contentiosis 

rum  in  statu   vitae  praesentis,  ad  conten-  actibus   hominum    civiliter  reducendis  ad 

tiones    hominum     dirimendas,  praecepta  aequalitatem   aut  commensuratiouem  de- 


"defensor  pacis. "  27 

to  call  the  evangelical  law  an  imperfect  one,  because  no  rules  were  to 
be  drawn  from  it  for  the  regulation  of  these  matters,  they  might,  with 
equal  propriety,  call  it  imperfect,  because  the  principles  of  the  healing 
art,  the  doctrines  of  mathematics,  or  the  rules  of  navigation  were  not 
to  be  derived  from  it.1 

We  have  already  remarked  that  Marsilius  looked  upon  the  holy 
Scriptures  as  constituting  alone  the  ultimate  source  of  all  our  know- 
ledge of  the  Christian  faith  ;  to  them  alone  as  contradistinguished 
from  all  human  writings,  he  ascribes  infallibility.2  Yet  it  was  his 
opinion  that  the  holy  Scriptures  would  have  been  given  in  vain,  nay 
would  have  proved  an  injury  to  mankind,  if  the  doctrines  necessary  to 
salvation  could  not  be  derived  from  them  with  certainty.  Hence  it 
followed  that  Christ  would  clearly  reveal  these  doctrines  to  the  major- 
ity of  the  faithful,  when  they  searched  after  the  true  sense  of  the 
holy  Scriptures  and  invoked  his  assistance  ;  so  that  the  doctrine  drawn 
from  the  holy  Scriptures  by  the  majority  of  believers  in  all  times, 
ought  to  be  the  rule  for  all.  And  hence  he  concluded  that  the  highest 
respect  was  due  to  the  decisions  of  general  councils.3  For  proof  of 
this  he  appealed  to  Christ's  promise,  that  he  would  be  with  his  church 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  first  apostolic  assem- 
bly, Acts  xv,  ascribed  their  decisions  to  the  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  But  he  dissented  from  the  well-known  maxim  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, Ego  vero  evangelio  non  crederem,  nisi  me  catholicae  ecclesiae 
commoveret  auctoritas ;  since  by  this  expression  the  authority  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures  seemed  to  be  ultimately  based  on  human  authority. 
But  his  interpretation  of  these  words  evidences  the  freer  christian 
striving  of  his  mind,  although  the  position  reached  by  the  theological 
culture  of  that  period  did  not  permit  him  as  yet  to  arrive  at  clearer 
and  more  comprehensive  views  on  this  subject.  These  words  were 
represented  as  simply  having  reference  either  to  the  fact,  that  it  is  by 
the  testimony  of  the  church  we  come  to  know  that  these  Scriptures 
are  apostolical,  or  also,  and  at  the  same  time,  to  the  fact,  that  we 
adopt  the  doctrines  therein  contained  as  the  doctrines  of  salvation  first 
of  all  upon  the  testimony  of  the  collective  body  of  believers.  The 
former  view  however,  he  thought  to  be  the  one  which  accorded  best 
with  St.  Paul's  teachings  in  the  epistle  to  the  Galatians ;  for  the  words 
of  Christ  were  not  true  on  the  ground  that  the  church  gave  witness  to 

bitam  pro  statu  scu  sufficientia  vitae  prae-  canonicae  appellantur.     F.  254,  c.  19. 

semis,  eo  quod  Christus  in  mundum  nou  3  Quoniam  frustra  dedisset  Christus  le- 

venit  ad   hujusmodi   regulandos  pro  vita  gem  .salmis  aeternac,  si  ejus  verum  intel- 

praesenti,   Bed    futura  tantummodo.      Et  tectum,  et  quern  credere  fidelibus  est  neces- 

propterea  diversa  est  temporalium  et  hu-  Barium  ad  salutem,  non   aperiret  eisdem 

manorum  actuam  regula,  diversimode  di-  hunc  quaerentibus,  et  pro  ipso  Lnvocanti- 

rigens  ad  hos  lines.  1'.  216.  1ms  siinul,  sed  circa  ipsum  fidelium  plural- 

1  s,  ex  hoc  dicerefur  imperfecta,  aequo  itatem   errare  sineret.     Quinimo  talis  lex 
convenienter  imperfecta  dici  posset,  quo-  non  solum  ad  salutem  foret  inutilis,  sed  in 
nium  per  ipsam  medicare corporales  aegri-  hominum  aeternam  perniciem  tradita  vi- 
es, aut  mensurare  magnitudines,  vel  deretur.    Etideo  pie  tenendum,  determi- 
oceanum  bavigare  nescimus.  L.  c.  nationes  conciliontm  generalium  in  sensi- 

-   «,»  khI  milium  seriptnrani  irrevocabili-  bus  seripturae  dubiis  a  spiritu  sancto  suae 

tor  voram  credere  vel   fateri   tenemur  do  veritatis   originem   sumere.    Cap.   19,  foL 

necessitate  salutis  aeteruae,  nisi  cas,  quae  234. 


28  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

them,  but  the  testimony  of  the  church  was  true,  because  it  harmonized 
with  the  words  of  Christ ;  for  the  apostle  Paul  says,  not  even  an  angel 
from  heaven  could  preach  any  other  gospel ;  so  that  although  the 
entire  church  should  preach  another  gospel,  it  could  not  be  a  true 
one.1 

He  objected  to  the  arbitrary  extension  of  the  predicate  spiritual  to 
everything  that  appertained  to,  or  proceeded  from  the  clergy.  What- 
ever served  for  the  maintenance  of  the  clergy  was  not  on  that  account, 
according  to  Holy  Scripture,  to  be  called  spiritual,  since  it  related 
simply  to  the  earthly  life  ;  but  it  should  be  called  secular.  In  truth, 
many  things  were  done  by  the  clergy,  which  could  not,  with  any 
propriety,  be  called  spiritual.2  As  might  easily  be  inferred  from  the 
exposition  we  have  just  given  of  his  ideas  of  the  church  and  the  state, 
he  ascribed  to  the  church  a  purely  spiritual  authority  only ;  and  de- 
nied that  she  possessed  any  authority  whatever  of  a  secular  character, 
or  which  had  reference  to  things  secular.  He  disclaimed  for  her  the 
possession  of  any  species  of  coercive  authority.  According  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  New  Testament,  (2  Timothy,  ii,)  bishops  should  rather 
hold  themselves  aloof  from  all  secular  affairs.  All  believers  without 
distinction  should  own  subjection  to  the  civil  magistrate,  and  obey  him 
in  all  things  not  standing  in  conflict  with  eternal  salvation.  With  what 
sort  of  conscience,  then,  could  a  priest,  of  whatever  rank  or  station, 
presume  to  absolve  subjects  from  their  oath  of  allegiance  binding 
them  to  the  government  that  is  over  them  ?  To  do  this  he  pronounces 
a  heresy.3 

The  principles  of  ecclesiastical  law  that  had  prevailed  down  to  this 
time  respecting  the  method  to  be  pursued  with  heretics,  should,  ac- 
cording to  the  ideas  set  forth  in  this  work,  be  altered  throughout.  To 
the  church  should  belong  no  sort  of  coercive  or  primitive  power.  This 
should  belong  exclusively  to  the  state,  and  be  applied  exclusively  to 
things  commanded  or  forbidden  by  the  laws  of  the  state  ;  as,  in  fact, 
immoralities  could  not  be  punished  by  the  state,  as  such,  but  only  so 
far  as  they  were  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  state.  Many  things 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  God,  must  needs  be  tolerated  by  the  state.4 
Civil  and  divine  punishments  belong  to  entirely  different  provinces. 
It  might  happen,  that  one  who  ought  to  be  punished  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  state,  would  not  be  found  punishable  before  the  divine 
tribunal.5     What  is  a  heresy,  and  what  is  not  a  heresy,  are  questions 

1  Non  enim  dicta  Christi  vera  sunt  cau-  talia  et  in  legem  divinam,  ut  fornicationis, 

saliter,  eo  quod  eisdem  testificetur  ecclesia  quae  permittit   etiam   scienter    legislator 

catholica,  sed  testimonium  ecclesiae  causal-  humanus,  neo  coactiva  pqtentia  prohibet, 

iter  verum  est  propter  veritatem  dictorum  nee  prohibere  potest  aut  debet  episcopus 

Christi.  F.  255.  vel  sacerdos.    L.  c.  f.  248. 

s  Non   omnes   eorum  actus  spirituales  a  Peccans  in  legem  humanam  peccato 

sunt,   nee  dici    debent,    quinimo   ipsorum  aliquo,   punietur  in    alio    saeculo   non  in 

sunt  multi  civiles  actus  contentiosi  et  car-  quantum   peccans   in   legem    humanam  : 

uales  seu  temporales.  Fol.  192  multa  enim  sunt  humana  lege  prohibita, 

3  Fol.  203.  quae  sunt  divina  lege  permissa.  ut  si  non 

4  Non  propterea,  quod  in  legem  divinam  restituerit  quis  mutuum  siatuto  tempore 
tantummodo  peccat  quis,  a  principante  propter  impotentiam,  casu  fortuito,  obli- 
punitur.     Sunt  enim  multa  peccata  mor-  vione,  aegritudiue  vel  alio  quodam  impe- 


"  DEFENSOR   PACTS."  29 

for  the  priest  to  decide.  He  may  correct  the  person  found  guilty, 
warn  him,  and  threaten  him  with  eternal  punishment :  but  no  other 
penalties  come  within  his  power  ;  just  as  in  all  other  departments  of 
knowledge,  —  in  the  art  of  healing,  in  trade,  he  who  understands  may 
decide  as  to  what  is  right  and  wrong  in  his  science,  but  not  with  the 
sanction  of  a  penalty.  Heresy,  however,  may  be  punished  by  the 
state  ;  yet  only  so  far  as  it  is  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  state  ;  the 
state  having  the  power  to  ordain,  that  no  heretic,  no  unbeliever  shall 
dwell  within  its  domain.  But,  if  this  be  permitted  to  a  heretic  by  the 
laws  of  the  state,  as  it  has  been  permitted  even  among  Christian  na- 
tions, no  one  has  a  right  to  punish  him.1  Just  as  a  man  may  trans- 
gress the  rules  of  some  science  or  trade,  and  yet  will  not  be  punished, 
on  that  account,  except  so  far  as  he  transgresses  the  laws  of  the  state. 
A  man-  may  drink,  make  shoes,  practise  the  art  of  healing,  as  he 
pleases,  or  as  he  can ;  but  he  is  never  punished  for  this,  unless  by  so 
doing  he  transgresses  the  laws  of  the  state.2 

Having  drawn  this  strict  line  of  demarcation  between  the  provinces 
of  the  state  and  of  the  church,  the  author  pronounces  that  ecclesiastics 
committing  actions  punishable  according  to  the  civil  laws  become  sub- 
ject to  the  coercive  power  of  the  state.  Inasmuch  —  says  he  —  as 
those  who  are  designated  by  the  common  name  of  clergy,  may  some- 
times, by  omission  or  commission,  be  guilty  of  sin,  and  some  —  would 
to  God  they  did  not  sometimes  constitute  the  majority  3  —  are  actual- 
ly so  guilty  to  the  injury  and  wrong  of  others  ;  it  follows,  that  they 
also  fall  under  the  jurisdiction  of  those  judges  who  have  coercive  author- 
ity, power  to  punish  the  transgressors  of  human  laws  ;  and  he  cites  in 
proof,  Romans  xiii.4  In  contending  against  the  exemption  of  the 
clergy  from  civil  jurisdiction,  he  says,  "  nothing  spiritual  belongs  to 
the  crimes  of  ecclesiastics ;  they  are  fleshly  actions,  and  the  more  flesh- 
ly, in  the  same  proportion  as  it  is  more  difficult  and  shameful  for  a 
priest  to  sin,  since  by  sinning  he  gives  occasion  for  sin,  aud  makes  it 
easy  to  those  whom  he  is  bound  to  restrain  from  it." 

dimento,  non  punietur  ex  hoc  in  alio  sae-  2  Causa  ejus  generalis  est,  quoniam  ne- 
culo  per  judicem  coactivum  secundum  le-  mo  quantumcunque  peccans  contra  disci- 
gem  divinam,  qui  tamcn  per  judicem  co-  plinas  speculativas  aut  operativas  quas- 
activum  secundum  legem  huinanam  juste  cumque  punitur  vel  arcetur  in  hoc  saeculo 
punitur.  Ibid.  praecise  in  quantum  hujusmodi,  sed  in 
'  Quodsiiiumana  lege  prohibitum  fucrit,  quantum  peccat  contra  praeceptum  huma- 
haereticum  aut  aliter  infidelem  in  regione  nae  legis.  Sed  enini  inebriari  ant  calceos 
manere,  qui  talis  in  ipsa  repertus  fuerit,  facere  vel  vendere  cujuscunque  modi, 
tanquara  le^is  humanae  transgressor  poena  prout  possit  aut  velit  quilihet,  medicari  et 
vel  suppliciohuic  transgressioni  eadem  lege  docere  ac  simllia  reliqua  officiorum  opera 
statutis  in  hoc  saeculo  debet  arceri.  Si  exerccre  pro  libito  si  prohibitum  non  esset 
vero  haereticum  aut  aliter  infidelem  com-  humano  lege,  nequaquam  arceretur  ebrio- 
tnorari  ndelibus  eadem  provincia  non  fue-  sus  aut  aliter  perverse  agcus  in  operibua 
rit  prohibitum  huniana  lege,  qucmadmo-  reliquis.     Ibid. 

<i ..in  haereucis  ac  seinini  Judaeoruin  jam  3  Et  agant  ipsorum  aliqui,  utinam  non 

humanis  legibus  permissum  exstitit,  etiam  plurimi  quandoquc  do  facto. 

temporibus     Christianorum     populorum,  *  Fol.  211. 

principium  atque  pontificum,  dico  cuipiam  5  Eo  etiam  carnaliores  atque  temporali- 

non  licere  haereticum  aut  aliter  infidelem  ores  judicandae  magis,  quanto  secundum 

quemquam  judicare  vel  arcere  poena  vel  ipsa  presbyter  aut  episcopus  gfavius  et  tur- 

supplicio  reali  aut  personali  pro  statu  vi-  phis  peccat,  his,  quos  a  talibus  revocare 

tae  praesentis.  Fol.  217.  debet,  delinquendi  praebens  occasionem  et 

3* 


SO  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

So,  again,  he  distinguishes  between  what  God  does  by  himself  and 
that  which  he  does  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  priest.  Adopt- 
ing the  view  held  by  Peter  Lombard,  he  asserts,  that  it  is  God  alone 
who  bestows  forgiveness  of  sins  where  its  conditions  a're  present  in 
true  penitence,  and  God  alone  who  can  purify  the  soul  from  the  stains 
of  sin.  He  distinguishes  from  this  the  declaration  of  the  priest,  which 
has  reference  to  a  man's  relation  to  the  outward  church.  To  the 
priest  also  it  belongs  to  change  a  greater  punishment  which  is  really 
due  into  some  minor  one  voluntarily  undertaken.1  Accordingly  he 
declares  strongly  against  the  power  arrogated  by  the  pope  of  absolving 
men  from  their  obligation  to  observe  the  laws  of  God,  with  allusion  to 
the  pope's  conduct  towards  the  emperor  Louis.  He  accuses  the  pope 
of  heresy  in  his  proceedings  towards  that  emperor.2  The  pope, 
says  he,  excites  his  own  subjects  to  rebel  against  that  catholic  prince 
by  certain  devilish  writings  and  discourses,  which  he  calls,  however, 
apostolical,  pronouncing  them  absolved  from  the  oath  of  allegiance,  by 
which,  in  good  truth,  they  were  and  still  are  bound  to  that  prince. 
Such  absolutions  he  proclaims  through  certain  ministers  of  his  wicked- 
ness, who  are  hoping  to  be  promoted  by  that  bishop  to  ecclesiastical 
offices  and  benefices.  It  is  plain  that  this  is  not  an  apostolical,  but  a 
devilish  transaction  ;  for  it  thus  comes  about,  that  this  bishop  and  his 
companions  in  wickedness,  blinded  by  avarice,  pride  and  ambition,  and 
full  of  all  malice,  as  any  one  may  perceive,  so  lead  all  that  follow 
them,  as  that  they  fall  into  mortal  sin.3  They  are  betrayed  by  this 
most  holy  father  and  his  servants,  hurried  into  treason,  robbery,  mur- 
der and  every  species  of  crime ;  and  unless  they  die  in  penitence,  and 
find  mercy  with  God  on  account  of  their  gross  ignorance,  must  be 
plunged  into  everlasting  destruction.  For  to  every  creature  endowed 
with  reason  it  must  be  certain,  that  neither  the  Roman  bishop  nor  any 
other  priest  has  power  to  absolve  any  man  whatever  from  such,  or  from 
any  other  lawful  oath,  without  reasonable  cause.  He  pronounces  it 
an  abominable  transaction,  that  the  pope,  through  certain  false  breth- 
ren who  were  agape  for  church  dignities,  should  direct  the  preaching 
of  a  crusade  against  the  subjects  of  the  emperor,  as  a  thing  well 
pleasing  to  God.4  He  pronounces  the  forgiveness  of  sins  promised  by 
the  pope5  (indulgences)  a  delusive  thing ;  for,  according  to  the  Catho- 

facilitatem    sui    exemplo   perverso.     Fol.  et  per  quosdara  et  falsos  fratres  sitientes 

242.  ecclesiasticas  dignitates  tanquam  Deo  sit 

1  Fol.  206  sq.  acceptum,  quemadmodum  iu  transmarinis 

'2  Fol.  283  :   Novum  genus  exercet  ne-  partibus  expugnare  paganos,  praedicari  fa- 

quitiae,  quod  manifeste  videtur  haereticam  cit  ubique.    Fol.  285. 

sapere  labem.  5  Promised  even  to  those  who  were  unable 

a  Fol.  28-t  :   Secundum  hoc  et  ex  hoc  from  bodily  weakness  to  take  part  them- 

episcopus  iste  cum  omnibus  sibi  conxplici-  selves  in  the  expedition,  but  yet  aided  it 

bus  ordinatoribus,  consensoribus  et  execu-  by  their  pecuniary  contributions ;    as  the 

toribus  sennone,  scriptura  vel  opere  cocci  words  stand  :  non   potentibus   propter  cor- 

existentes    cupiditate,    avaritia,    superbia  poris  debilitatem  id  scelus  explere,  si  ad 

cum   ambitione    summaque,    ut   omnibus  proprios  ipsorum  sumtus  id  per  alios  us- 

constat,  iniquitate  repleti,  ducatum  prae-  que  in  idem  tempus  procuraverint  pcrpe- 

bent  sibi  credentibus  et  assequentibus  ad  trari,  aut  summam  illam  ad  hoc  sutlicicn- 

casum  et  praecipitationem  in  t'oveam  mor-  tem  exhibuerint  nef'arii*  exactoribus  suis. 

talium  peccatorum.  Ibid. 

4  Et  quod  horret  auditus,  id  praedicat, 


"  DEFENSOR   PACIS."  31 

lie  faith,  it  could  be  doubtful  to  no  one,  that  to  those  who  took  part  in 
such  a  war,  this  ridiculous  and  groundless  absolution,  could  be  of  no 
use,  but  must  rather  prove  an  injury.1  Yet,  for  the  gratification  of 
his  ungodly  desires,  he  so  deceives  the  simple,  —  granting  them  in 
words,  what  lies  beyond  his  power,  thus  betraying  souls  to  everlasting 
perdition. 

The  author  of  this  work  perceived  already  the  baseless,  unsubstan- 
tial character  of  the  whole  hierarchical  system  ;  and  with  a  boldness 
and  freedom  from  all  bias,  truly  worthy  of  admiration,  showed  his 
ability  to  distinguish  the  original  truth  from  later  impositions.  He  dis- 
covered already,  that  originally  there  was  but  one  priestly  office,  and 
no  distinction  of  the  office  of  bishops  from  that  of  presbyters.*  "  How 
is  it,"  says  he,  "  that  some  unscrupulous  flatterers  dare  affirm  that 
every  bishop  has  received  from  Christ  a  plenitude  of  power  even  over 
his  own  clergy,  to  say  nothing  of  the  laity ;  while  neither  Peter  nor 
any  other  apostle  ever  presumed,  by  word  or  deed,  to  arrogate  to 
themselves  any  such  authority  ?  They  who  affirm  this,  should  be 
laughed  at.  They  should  not  be  believed  ;  still  less  should  they  be 
feared  ;  for  the  holy  Scriptures,  in  their  literal  and  manifest  sense, 
tell  us  quite  the  contrary."3  So,  too,  he  utterly  danies  the  precedence 
of  rank  ascribed  to  Peter  over  the  rest  of  the  apostles  ;  and  he  under- 
stands very  well  how  to  prove,  from  the  New  Testament,  the  ground- 
lessness of  this  assumption. 4  But  even  supposing  that  a  certain 
authority  may  have  been  conceded  to  Peter  by  the  other  apostles,  yet 
it  would  by  no  means  follow  from  it,  he  remarks,  that  this  authority 
was  transmitted  to  the  Roman  church ;  for  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
same  thing  might  not  be  said,  just  as  well,  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem 
or  at  Antioch,  or  of  any  other  church.  It  was  true  of  the  Apostles, 
generally,  that  to  no  one  of  them  was  a  distinct  and  separate  church 
assigned ;  but  they  were  commissioned  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all 
people.5  It  could  not  be  proved  from  the  law  of  God,  nor  by  any 
Scripture  which  it  is  necessary  to  salvation  to  believe,  that  it  was  ever 
determined  by  Christ,  or  by  an  apostle,  or  by  the  collective  body  of 
the  apostles,  that  a  bishop  of  some  one  particular  province,  should  be 
called  particularly  the  successor  of  Peter  or  of  any  other  apostle,  or 
that  he  should  be  accounted  more  than  the  others,  however  unequal 
the  apostles  may  have  been  among  themselves ;  but  he  rather  was,  in 
a  certain  sense,  successor  of  Peter  and  of  the  rest  of  the  apostles, 

1  Hanc  derisibilem  et  inanem  absolu-  quam  episcopum  habere  a  Christo  pleni- 
tionem  nihil  proficere,  sed  nocere.  Fol.  tudinem  potestatis,  etiam  in  clericos,  ne- 
286.  tlum  in  laieos,  nun  beatus  Pctrus  aut  alter 

2  We  have  an  illustration  of  his  free  apostolus  nunquam  talera  sibi  potestatem 
spirit  of  inquiry  in  his  method  of  proving  adscribese  praesumserit  opere  vel  sermo- 
Uih  1'rom  Acts  xx.  Fol.  239 :  Ecce  quod  in  ne  ?  Hoc  enirn  asserentes  deridendi  sunt, 
ecclesia  unius  municipii  plures  allocates  nihil  credendi  minusqne  timendi,  cum 
est  apostolus  tanquam  cpiseopus,  quod  non  scripturae  oppositum  clament  in  literati  et 
fuit  nisi  propter  sacerdotum  pluralitatem,  manifesto  sensu  ipsarum. 

qui   onines    episcopi   dicebantur,    propter  *  Fol.  241,  et  sq. 

hoe,  quod  superintendentes  esse  debebant  5  Quia  nullus  apostolorura  lege  divina 

populo.  determinants  fait  omnino  ad  populum  ali- 

J  Fol.  243  :  Cur  ergo  et  unde  assumunt  quern  vel  locum.  Fol.  244. 
adulatorcs  sacrilegi  quidam  dicere,  quein- 


32  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

who  came  nearest  to  them  in  copying  their  lives  and  their  holy  man- 
ners ;]  according  to  the  saying  of  Christ,  that  they  were  his  mother, 
his  brothers  and  his  sisters,  who  did  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heaven, 
Matthew  xii.  The  bishop  of  Rome  ought  rather  to  be  called  successor 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  who  for  two  years  preached  the  Gospel  at  Rome, 
than  the  successor  of  Peter.  It  could  not  even  be  shown  from  the 
New  Testament,  that  Peter  had  ever  been  at  Rome.2  The  free,  in- 
quiring spirit,  and  the  sharp  discernment  of  this  man,  are  evidenced  in 
the  skill  with  which  he  shows  up  the  idle  character  of  those  tales,  so 
long  time  believed,  about  the  labors  of  Peter  in  Rome,  and  his  there 
meeting  with  Paul.  It  must  certainly  be  regarded,  he  says,  as  very 
singular  and  surprising  that  Luke,  the  author  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  and  Paul,  should  no  where  make  mention  of  Peter.  How 
can  this  fact  be  reconciled  with  the  statement,  that  Peter  had  labored 
in  Rome  before  Paul,  when  it  appears  from  the  last  chapter  of  the 
Acts,  that  to  the  Jews  in  Rome  the  Christians  were  a  wholly  unknown 
sect  ?  How  can  this  supposition  be  reconciled  with  the  fact  that, 
when  Paul  reproached  the  Jews  for  their  unbelief,  he  did  not  appeal 
to  the  earlier  preaching  of  Peter ;  that  Paul,  during  his  two  years' 
residence  in  Rome,  should  never  come  in  contact  with  Peter  ;  or  that 
the  history  of  the  apostles  should  have  taken  no  notice  of  the  fact  ? 3 
He  asserts  the  original  equality  of  all  bishops,  and  their  independence 
of  each  other,  and  traces  the  origin  of  a  certain  primacy  of  the  Ro- 
man church  to  the  times  of  the  emperor  Constantine.4  Though  he 
did  not  look  upon  the  primacy  of  the  Roman  church  as  anything  origi- 
nally inherent  in  that  church,  yet  he  supposes  that  such  a  primacy 
sprang  gradually,  of  its  own  accord,  out  of  existing  relations.  The 
high  consideration  in  which  the  great  capital  of  the  world  universally 
stood,  and  the  eminently  flourishing  condition  of  the  sciences  at  that 
centre  of  learning,  were  the  occasions  that  led  men  to  seek  counsel 
and  advice  especially  from  that  church,  and  to  look  to  that  quarter  for 
'their  clergy.  As  an  example,  he  compares  the  relation  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Orleans  to  that  of  Paris.  He  himself  had  been  witness  how 
the  University  of  Paris  had  been  consulted  for  advice  by  the  former.6 

1  Sed  ille  vel  ill i  magis  sunt  aliquo  mo-  ibidem  fuisse  ct  praedicasse,  quomodo  non 
do  bcati  Petri  et  reliquorum  apostolorum  dixisset  aut  ipsum  hujus  testem  induxisset 
successores,  qui  vitae  et  ipsorum  Sanctis  negotii,  qui  resurrectionis  Christi  testis  ex- 
moribus  amplius  eonformantur.  Fol.  245.  stiterat.      Quis    opinabitur,   quod   biennio 

2  Dico  per  scripturum  sacram  convinei  existens  ibidem  Paulus  nunquam  conver- 
non  posse,  ipsum  fuisse  Romanum  episco-  sationem,  collationem  aut  contubernium 
pum,  et  quod  amplius  est,  ipsum  unquam  habuerit  cum  b.  Petro  ?  Et  si  habnisset, 
Romae  fuisse.  Fol.  245.  quod  de  ipso  nullam  penitus  mentionem 

3  Admirandissimum  dico,  quod  b. Lucas,  fecessit,  qui  actuum  scripsit  bistoriam  % 
qui  actus   apostolorum  scripsit,  et  Paulus  4  Qui  quandam  praeeminentiam  et  po- 
apostolus  do  beato  Petro  nullam  prorsus  testatem  tribuit  episeopis  et  ecclesiae  Ro 
mentionem  fecerunt.    Then,  after  a  quota-  manorum  super  caeteras  mundi  ecclesias 
tion  from  Acts  28: 19 — 23:   Dicat  ergo  mi-  seu  presbyteros  omnes.   Fol.  243. 

hi  veritatis  inquisitor,  non  quaerens  con-  5  Sic  et  qui  librum  hunc  in  lucem  de- 
tendere  solum,  si  probabile  sit  alicui,  bea  duxit,  studiosorum  universitatem  Aure- 
tum  Petrum  Romam  praevenisse  Paulum  lianis  degentem  vidit,  audivit  et  scivit  per 
et  nihil  nuntiasse  de  Christi  fide,  quam  Ju-  suos  nuntios  et  epistolas  requirentem  et 
daei  loquentes  ad  Paulum  sectam  voca-  supplicantem  Pariensi  universitati  tan- 
bant  ?  Amplius  Paulus  in  reprehendendo  quam  famosiori  et  veneratiori  caet.  Fol. 
ipsos  de  incredulitate,  si  novisset  Cepham  252. 


"  DEFENSOR    PACTS."  33 

He  held  to  a  certain  priority  of  one  church,  which,  however,  was  not 
connected  with  any  right  of  jurisdiction  over  the  others  ;  and  to  this 
priority,  not  indeed  as  anything  necessary,  or  founded  on  divine  right, 
but  yet  as  a  thing  salutary  and  conducive  to  the  preservation  of  church 
unity.1  Did  any  one  ask,  to  what  bishop  should  such  a  place  of  emi- 
nence be  conceded  ?  It  ought,  in  good  truth,  to  be  said,  to  the  one 
who  excelled  all  the  others  in  life  and  doctrine  ;  and  the  chief  stress 
here  was  to  be  laid  on  the  life.  Did  any  one  ask,  to  what  ecclesias- 
tical diocese  should  such  a  distinction  be  conceded  ?  that  one  should  be 
designated,  in  which  were  to  be  found  a  clerical  body  most  distinguish- 
ed for  life  -and  doctrine.  Yet,  provided  only  the  other  requisites  were 
present,  it  was  very  proper  that  sueh  consideration  might  still  continue 
to  be  conceded,  according  to  ancient  custom,  to  the  church  of  Rome. 
But  Marsilius  takes  strong  ground  against  the  authority  ascribed  to  the 
pope  and  the  cardinals  to  decide  anything  about  matters  of  faith. 
"  How  in  case,"  says  he,  "  that  a  heretic  should  be  elevated  to  the 
papal  dignity  ;  or  that  one  after  having  attained  to  that  dignity,  should 
from  ignorance  or  from  wickedness  fall  into  some  heresy  ;  ought  the 
heretical  decisions  of  such  a  pope  to  pass  for  valid  ?  "  He  adduces, 
for  example,  the  decision  contrary  to  the  gospel  given  by  Pope  John 
XXII,  on  the  matter  of  evangelical  poverty  ;  a  decision  which  he  put 
forth  to  the  end  that  he  might  not  appear  to  have  fallen  from  Christian 
perfection,  and  that  he  might  assert  his  secular  dominion.2  He  appeals 
again  to  the  bullUnam  sanctam  issued  by  pope  Boniface  VIII,  which 
he  calls  a  thing  false  to  the  very  core.3 

The  supreme  authority  to  determine  in  all  disputed  matters  pertain- 
ing to  faith  he  ascribes  to  a  general  council,  assembled  with  the  consent 
and  participation  of  all  the  faithful ;  and  to  such  a  council  he  thinks 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  may  have  been  promised.*  He 
considered  it  desirable,  especially  in  the  then  existing  condition  of  the 
clergy,  that  laymen  should  also  be  allowed  a  seat  in  the  councils.  "  In 
the  present  corrupt  state  of  the  church,"  says  he,  "  the  great  majority 
of  the  priests  and  bishops  are  but  little,  and  if  we  may  speak  freely, 
quite  insufficiently  experienced  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  ;  because  they 
hanker  after  the  benefices,  to  which  ambitious,  covetous  aspirants, 
skilled  in  canonical  law,  attain,  by  services  rendered,  by  petition,  by 
money  or  the  aid  of  the  secular  power.5  I  call  God  and  the  multi- 
tude of  believers  to  witness,"  says  he,  "  that  I  have  seen  and  heard 

1  Quamvis  non  sit  lege  divina  praecep-  alissimam  omnium  exeogitabilium  falso- 

tuin,  qnoniaro  et  sine  hoe  tidei  unitas,  lieet  rum.  Ibid. 

nun  sic  faciliter  salvaretur,  expedire  dico  4  Fol.  253. 

ad  hanc  anitatem  facilius  et  decentius  ob-  6  Nunc   vero  propter  ecclesiastici  regi- 

servandam.   Fol.  265.  minis  corruptionem  plurima  pars  sacerdO« 

'-'  Ne  summam  Christi  paupertatem  et  turn  et  episcoporum   in  sacra  scripture  pe- 

perfectionis  statum  deserere  videretur,  cum  riti  sunt  parum,  et  si  dicere  Liceat  insuffi- 

hoc  volens  temporalis  etiam  immobilia  in  eienter,  eo  quod  temporalia  beneficiorum, 

suo  venditandi  retinere  dominio  et  seeula-  quae  assequuntur  officiosis  ambitiosi.  cnpi- 

riter  principal!  Fol.  257.  di  et  causidici  quidam,  obtinere  volant  et 

3  Nunc    autem    earn    ah    initio  nunc  et  obtinent  obsequio,  piece  vel  pretio  vel  sae- 

semper    constat     esse    I'alsam,    erroneam  culari  potentia.  Fol.  258. 
cunctisqae  civiliter  viventibus  praejudici- 


34  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

of  very  many  priests  and  abbots  and  some  prelates,  incapable  even  of 
preaching  a  sermon  according  to  the  rules  of  grammar."  He  men- 
tions it  as  a  fact,  that  he  had  known  a  young  man  not  twenty  years 
old,  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of  religion,  to  whom  the  office 
of  a  bishop,  in  a  respectable  and  populous  city,  had  been  granted, 
though  he  had  not  as  yet  passed  through  the  inferior  grades  of  cleri- 
cal consecration.  And  this  thing,  the  pope,  who  as  vicar  of  Christ', 
pretended  to  possess  the  "  plenitude  of  power"  in  the  distribution  of 
benefices,  had  often  clone,  with  a  view  to  secure  the  favor  of  the  pow- 
erful. Now  for  what  purpose  should  a  parcel  of  such  bishops  and 
priests  assemble  together  ?  How  should  such  persons  be,able  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  true  and  the  false  sense  of  the  Scriptures  ? 
Owing,  then,  to  the  deficiencies  of  such  persons,  it  was  necessary  to 
call  in  the  assistance  of  discreet  laymen,  sufficiently  versed  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  men  distinguished  also  by  their  lives  and  manners 
above  such  bishops  and  priests.1  He  describes  in  general  the  great 
mischief  that  grew  out  of  the  arbitrary  power  conceded  to  the  popes 
in  making  appointments  to  ecclesiastical  offices.  Supposing  the  Roman 
bishop  to  be  a  proud  man,  sunk  also  in  other  vices,  a  man  disposed  to  ex- 
ercise secular  powers  such  as  several  had  been  known  to  be  in  modern 
times  ;  a  person  of  this  character,  to  gratify  his  insatiable  avarice,  or 
his  other  passions,  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  powerful,  would  put  up 
ecclesiastical  offices  for  sale  ;  and  to  please  the  same  class,  would  con- 
fer such  offices  on  their  relatives  and  friends.  And  that  this  not  only 
might  be  done,  but  had  actually  long  been  done  and  was  still  done, 
was  a  fact  testified  by  an  experience  not  hidden  from  any  of  the  faith- 
fuls He  speaks  as  an  eye  witness  himself  of  the  corruption  of  the 
Roman  court.  "  They,"  says  he,  "  who  have  trod  the  threshhold  of 
the  Roman  court,  or  to  speak  more  strictly  according  to  truth,  that 
house  of  traffic,  that  abominable  den  of  robbers,  will  have  seen,  and 
they  who  have  not  themselves  visited  it,  will  have  heard  from  the  reports 
of  numerous  credible  eye  witnesses,  that  it  is  the  resort  of  all  the  vicious 
crew  who  push  a  trade  with  spiritual  as  they  would  with  secular 
things.3  For  what  else  do  you  find  there,  but  a  confluence  from  all 
quarters  of  those  who  exercise  the  trade  of  simony  ?  What  else  than 
the  bustling  of  attorneys,  the  intrigues  of  caballers,  and  persecutions 
of  righteous  men  ?  There  the  just  cause  of  the  innocent  runs  an 
awful  hazard  of  being  defeated ;  or  if  they  cannot  redeem  it  with 
money,  of  being  so  long  retarded,  that,  exhausted,  wearied  out  by 
countless  vexations,  they  are  finally  compelled  to  abandon  their  just 
and  pitiable  cause ;  for  these  human  laws  are  loud  and  noisy,  while 
divine  doctrines  are  silent,  or  let  themselves  be  heard  but  seldom. 
There  it  is  deliberated  how  the  countries  of  Christian  men  may  be 
forcibly  wrested  from  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  the  guardianship  of 

1  Fol.  258.  aut  qui  ab  hac   abstinuerunt,  numerosae 

2  Fol.  202.  fide  dignorum  multitudinis  relatione  dis 

3  Cement  se  ipsislimpide,  qui  Romanae  cent,  earn  paene  sceleratorum  omnium  et 
curiae,  imo  verius  cum  veritate  dicam,  do-  negotiatorum  tam  spiritualium  quam  tem- 
lims  negotiations,  et  ea  quae  latronum  poralium  receptaculurn  esse  factam.  Fol. 
horribilioris    speluncae   limina  visitarunt,  274. 


"  DEFENSOR    PACIS."  35 

them  has  been  lawfully  committed.  There  no  pains  are  taken,  no 
counsels  held  to  win  souls  to  Christ :  there  no  order,  but  only  everlast- 
ing confusion  dwells.  I  who  have  been  there  and  have  seen  it,"  fan- 
cied to  myself  that  I  beheld  the  frightful  image  which  Nebuchadnezzar 
saw  in  his  dream  (Daniel  ii.)  ;  for  what  else  is  this  great  image  than 
the  condition  of  the  Roman  court,  which  once  was  fearful  to  the  per- 
verse and  wicked,  but  is  now,  to  all  who  study  it  near  at  hand,  awful 
to  contemplate?2  The  upper  part  of  the  image,  to  which  the  eves 
and  the  affections  of  the  mind  are  attracted,  gold  and  silver  ;  the  belly 
and  hips,  the  bustle  of  worldly  strife  and  the  trade  of  simony  ;  not  to 
mention  the  thunder  of  the  ban  against  the  faithful  of  Christ,  who,  in 
secular  things,  refuse  to  submit  to  the  pope  and  his  church,  and  refuse, 
though  rightly,  to  commit  temporal  things  to  him.  What  are  the  thighs 
of  brass  but  the  sumptuous  apparatus  for  all  pleasures  and  all  vanities, 
which  even  to  laymen,  seem  indecent,  but  which  those  persons  parade 
forth  to  the  senses  of  men  who  ought  to  present  to  all  others  an  exam 
pie  of  purity  and  honor?3  He  complains  that  the  popes  supposed 
people  of  the  lowest  order,  altogether  without  experience,  wealth 
or  secular  dominion,  capable,  if  they  attained  suddenly  and  at  once 
to  so  great  wealth  and  power,  of  holding  rule  over  princes  and  na- 
tions.4 He  points  at  the  popes  as  the  destroyers  of  the  church. 
"  The  modern  popes,"  says  he,  "  do  not  defend  the  Catholic  faith  and 
the  multitude  of  believers,  who  are  in  the  true  sense  the  bride  of 
Christ,  but  prostrate  them  to  the  ground :  they  do  not  preserve  her 
beauty,  which  consists  in  unity,  but  they  disgrace  it,  by  sowing  tares 
and  contentions  :  they  sever  her  members,  and  separate  them  one  from 
another ;  and  allowing  no  place  to  the  poverty  and  humility  that  tru- 
ly belong  to  the  following  after  Christ,  but  rather  banishing  it  from 
their  presence,  they  prove  themselves  to  be  not  servants,  but  enemies 
of  the  bridegroom."5 

The  author  of  this  remarkable  book  must  assuredly  have  atoned 
with  his  life  for  such  freedom  of  thought,  if  the  contest  between  the 
pope  and  the  emperor  had  not  secured  his  safety  in  spite  of  the  sen- 
tence of  condemnation  passed  upon  him  by  the  former.  It  is  true, 
the  principles  expressed  in  his  book  met  as  yet  with  no  response  ;  but 
it  was  still  an  important  sign  of  the  times,  that  such  principles  were 
expressed. 

1  Qui  vidi  ct  affni.  Fol.  274.  discreti  nuper  ditati,  fidelibus  omnibus  im- 

2  Quid  nempc  aliud  ingens  haec  statua,     portabiles  Hunt.    Fol.  279. 

(juam  status  personarum  curiae  llomanac         5  Sic  igitur  propter  temporalia  conten- 

seu  smnmi   pontiticis,  qui  olim   pcrvcrsis  dendo  non  vere  defenditur  sponsa  Christi. 

hoininum  terribilis,  nunc  vcro  cunctis  stu-  Earn  etcnim,  quae  vere  Christi  sponsa  est, 

diosis  horribilia  est  aspectu.  Ih.  catholicara   fidem   et   fidelium   multitndi- 

3  Voluptatum,  luxus  et  vanitatum  quasi  nem,  non  defendant  moderni  Romanorum 
omnium,  ctiam  laicis  indecentium,  appa-  pontiHces,  sed  offendunt,  illiusque  pulchri- 
ratus  pomposus,  quern  sensibus  hominum  tudinem,  unitatem  videlicet,  non  servant, 
iinprimiint.  qui  caeteris  esse  debent  casti-  sed  foedant,  dum  zizanias  et  schismata 
tatis  et  honestatis  exemplum.    Fol.  274.  seminando,  ipsius  membra  Lacerant  et  ab 

4  Eorum  plurimi  ex  hutnili  plebe  tra-  invicem  scparant,  Christi  quoque  veras 
hentes  natalia,  dum  ad  statum  pontiHca-  comites,  paapertatem  et  humilitatem,  dam 
lem  sunmntur,  praesidatum  saeculi  nesci-  non  admittunt,  sed  excliulunt  penitas,  se 
entes,  quemadmodum  neque  divitias,  in-  sponsi  ministros  non  ostenduut,  sed  potius 

inimicos.    Fol.  281. 


db  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

As  the  pope  did  not  comply  with  the  invitation  from  Rome  to  return 
back  to  that  place,  the  Ghibelline  party  triumphed  there,  and  the  em- 
peror was  received  with  acclamation.  In  connection  with  the  party 
opposed  to  the  pope,  the  rigid  Franciscans  in  particular,  he  repeated 
the  old  trick  which  had  been  tried  against  the  popes,  by  earlier  empe- 
rors, but  which  never  was  found  to  produce  the  slightest  moral  effect. 
He  caused  a  solemn  assembly  to  be  held  in  the  year  1328,  on  the 
place  in  front  of  St.  Peter's  church.  Here  John  XXII.  was  accused 
of  being  a  heretic.  The  erroneous  doctrines  charged  against  him 
were  the  assertion  that  Christ  with  his  disciples  held  property  in  com- 
mon, when  in  truth  he  ever  loved  poverty  ;  that  the  pope  was  for  ar- 
rogating to  himself  secular  rule,  contrary  to  Christ's  words,  "  Give  to 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,"  and  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world."  Sentence  of  deposition  was-  pronounced  against  him.  A 
contemporary1  who  entertained  a  sufficiently  bad  opinion  of  this  pope, 
describes  the  impression  produced  by  this  step,  and  probably  accord- 
ing to  the  truth,  when  he  says,  "  The  wise  men  in  Rome  were  much 
disturbed  at  this  sentence,  and  the  rest  of  the  simple  people  did  not 
greatly  exult  over  it."  2  Next,  to  win  the  favor  of  the  Romans,  a 
law  was  enacted,3  that  every  pope  should  reside  in  Rome,  and  not 
leave  the  city,  except  during  three  months  in  the  year ;  and  not  re- 
main out  of  it  more  than  two  days,  and  for  that  time  only  with  the 
permission  of  the  Roman  people.  If,  on  absenting  himself  from 
Rome,  he  did  not,  when  invited  by  the  Roman  people  to  return,  com- 
ply, he  should,  after  the  invitation  had  been  thrice  repeated,  be  de- 
posed. After  this  preparatory  step,  the  emperor4  caused  a  second 
great  assembly  to  be  held  on  Ascension  Day,  the  12th  of  May,  1328, 
in  the  place  before  St.  Peter's  church.  Louis  appeared  in  all  his  im- 
perial insignia,  surrounded  by  nobles  and  a  vast  multitude  of  men 
aud  women  filled  the  space  around  him.  Then  Pietro  Corvaro,  a 
Franciscan,  who  by  his  strict  life  had  won  the  reverence  of  the  people, 
was  borne  in  procession  under  a  baldochin.  The  emperor  rose  from 
his  seat.  A  bishop  stepped  forward  and  delivered  a  scurrilous  dis- 
course, applying  the  words  in  Acts  12  :  8,  to  the  emperor  Louis,  com- 
paring Louis  with  the  angel,  and  pope  John  with  Herod.  Next,  a 
bishop  selected  for  the  purpose,  thrice  put  the  question  to  the  assembled 
people  whether  they  would  have  Peter  of  Corvaro  for  pope.  Prompt- 
ed by  fear,  they  said  yes  ;  though  they  would  have  preferred  a  Ro- 
man. Corvaro  was  now  regarded  as  lawful  pope,  and  called  himself, 
as  such,  Nicholas  V.     This  certainly  was  a  hasty  and  ill-judged  trans- 

1  The  Florentine  Giovanni  Villani,  in  disciples,  Your  treasure  is  in  heaven,  and 

his  History  of  Florence.    This  writer,  1. 11,  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves   treasures   on 

c.  20,  speaks  of  his  extortions  and  his  ava-  earth.     Ma  non  si  ricordava  il  buouo  hu- 

rice,  says   that  he  used  a  great  deal  of  omo  del  vangelo  di  Christo,  dicendo  a  snoi 

money,  partly  to  carry  on  his  war  with  the  discipoli,  etc. 

emperor  in  Lombardy,  partly  to  maintain  8  Delia  detta  sentenzia  i  savi  huomini  di 

his   nephew,  or  rather  son,  in  state  and  Roma  molto  si  turbarono,  e  l'altro  semplice 

splendor,  —  mantanere  grande  il  suo  ni-  popolo  ne  fece  grande  festa.    L.  10.  c.  68. 

pote,  overo  rigliuolo,  —  who  was  legate  at  3  L.  c.   c.  70. 

Lombardy.    The  good  man  did  not  call  to  4  L.  c.   c.  71. 
mind  that  Christ  in  the  gospel  says  to  his 


joiin  xxn.  37 

action,  by  which  the  emperor  could  only  injure  his  own  cause.1  He 
was  in  no  condition  to  follow  up  the  step  he  had  taken.  He  was 
obliged  to  flee  from  Italy ;  and  Nicholas  was  finally  compelled  to  beg 
absolution  of  Pope  John  at  Avignon,  and  to  submit  to  his  authority. 
Louis  saw  that  his  power  was  on  the  wane.  The  papal  ban  had  made 
an  impression  on  the  secular  and  spiritual  estates  ;  and  his  own  unfa- 
vorable relations  induced  the  emperor  who  longed  for  quiet,  to  seek 
reconciliation  with  the  pope  ;  but  the  latter  repelled  all  his  advances, 
and  required  unconditional  submission.  Already  was  Louis  prepared 
to  purchase  qui^t  at  any  price  for  himself  and  for  Germany ;  but  the 
estates  of  the  empire  were  unwilling  to  expose  the  empire  to  such  hu- 
miliation, and  took  sides  with  the  emperor  against  the  pope.  The  lat- 
ter had  by  his  arbitrary  proceedings  in  appointments  to  church  offices, 
aroused  the  displeasure  of  many.  The  archbishop  of  Trier,  indignant 
at  a  process  lost  at  the  Roman  court  in  Avignon,  had  appealed  to  a 
general  council.  In  addition  to  this  Pope  John  had  stirred  up  a  theo- 
logical controversy,'  by  which  he  lost  much  of  his  authority,  and  ex- 
posed himself  to  severe  humiliation.  He  had  expressed  an  opinion, 
contrary  to  the  common  persuasion,  and  hardly  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  prevailing  mode  of  regarding  the  condition  of  the  saints,  namely 
that  the  pious  were  not  to  attain  to  the  intuition  of  God,  until  after 
the  final  judgment.  Two  preachers  of  the  Franciscan  order  were 
said  to  have  embraced  this  doctrine  at  the  University  of  Paris.  It 
became  the  occasion  of  disputes  and  violent  commotions  in  that  Uni- 
versity. The  king  interfered.  He  convoked,  on  the  fourth  Sunday 
of  Advent,  1333,  an  assembly  of  prelates  and  theologians  at  the  castle 
of  Vincennes,  and  laid  before  this  council  two  questions ;  whether  the 
holy  souls  in  heaven  would  be  enabled  to  behold  God's  essence  before 
the  resurrection  and  before  the  general  judgment ;  and  whether  the 
same  intuition  of  the  divine  essence,  which  they  now  enjoyed,  would 
be  renewed  at  the  day  of  judgment,  or  a  different  one  would  follow.2 
The  king  himself  explained,  for  the  purpose  of  quieting  all  appre- 
hension, that'  he  was  far  from  wishing  to  detract  in  any  way  whatever 
from  the  honor  of  the  pope.  To  save  the  honor  and  respect  due  to 
the  pope  in  this  investigation  it  was  remarked,  that  the  supreme  pon- 
tiff had  thrown  out  all  that  he  had  said  on  this  matter,  not  as  his  own 
opinion,  but  as  something  problematical .3  As  the  result  of  these  deli- 
berations it  was  established,  that  the  souls  which,  on  departing  this 
life,  were  in  such  a  condition  as  not  to  need  purgation,  and  those  which 
had  already  passed  through  the  fires  of  purgatory,  were  raised  to  the 
immediate  intuition  of  the  divine  essence  ;  this  was  one  and  the  same 
thing  with  the  eternal  life  itself,  and  at  the  resurrection  therefore, 

1  Villani  describes  the  bad  impression  mai  non  li  furono  fedeli  come  prima.   Ibid. 

which  was  made  thereby  on  the  minds  of  *  Bulaei  hist.  Univ.  Paris,  torn,  iv,  f.  237. 

the    Romans.   La  buona  gente  di  Roma  3  The  Parisians  say,  in  excuse  of  them- 

molto  si  turba,  parendo  loro,  che  facesse  selves  :  Quod  multoriiim  fide  dignornm  re- 

contro  a  fide  e  santa  Chiesa,  e  sapemo  noi  latione  audi  vimus,  quod  quidquid  in  hac 

di    yito    dalla  sua  gente    medesima,  che  materia  sanctitas  sua  dixit,  non  asserendo 

quelli,  ch'erano  savi,  parve  loro  ch'egli  non  seu   opinando  protulerit,  Bed  solummodo 

facesse  bene,  e  molti  per  la  detta  cagione  recitando. 

VOL.  V.  4 


38  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

nothing  different  would  follow.  What  the  theological  faculty  here 
pronounced  orally,  they  were  afterwards  required  by  the  king  to  state 
in  writing.  He  transmitted  this  letter  to  the  pope,  admonishing  him 
to  recant,  and  threatening  him,  as  it  is  reported,  in  case  of  refu- 
sal, with  the  faggot.1  John  thus  became  still  more  dependant  on  the 
king ;  to  whom  henceforth,  as  Villani  relates,  he  no  longer  dared  re- 
fuse anything.  Shortly  before  his  death,  in  the  year  1334,  he  put 
forth  a  bull,  in  which  he  declared,  that  purified  departed  souls  found 
themselves  in  heaven  or  in  paradise.  In  all  he  had  said  or  written  to 
the  contrary,  he  had  only  intended  to  present  the  matter  as  a  fair 
subject  for  disputation.  All  that  he  had  said  and  written  should  be 
considered  valid  only  so  far  as  it  harmonized  with  the  catholic  faith, 
the  church  and  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  submitted  everything  to  the 
better  judgment  of  the  church  and  of  his  successors.  We  thus  ob- 
serve from  the  reign  of  Boniface  VIII.  and  onwards  to  this  point  of 
time,  a  series  of  new  and  freer  investigations  called  forth  by  the  des- 
potism of  the  popes.  After  Marsilius  of  Padua,  deserves  to  be  espe- 
cially noticed  here  William  Occam,  who  by  the  invitation  of  the  em- 
peror wrote  upon  the  points  in  dispute.2  In  perfect  agreement  with 
his  whole  skeptical  method,  he  is  cautious  indeed  about  expressing  any 
decided  opinion,  and  takes  a  safe  position  for  himself  by  simply  stating 
the  arguments  first  on  the  one  side  and  then  on  the  other.3  But  at 
the  same  time,  he  leaves  us  at  no  loss  to  understand  for  which  opinion 
he  is  both  able  and  willing  to  adduce  the  strongest  arguments. 

Against  the  opinion  that  the  pope  possesses  the  "  plenitude  of 
power"  tarn  in  spiritualibus  quam  in  temporalibus,  it  is  established 
that  in  such  case  the  gospel  in  its  relation  to  the  law  of  Moses  would  not 
be  a  law  of  liberty,  but  the  law  of  an  intolerable  servitude  ;  a  servi- 
tude still  more  grievous  than  under  the  earlier  dispensation.  For,  ac- 
cording to  this  view,  all  would  be  servants  of  the  pope,  so  that  he  might, 
at  pleasure,  appoint  kings  and  dispose  of  their  realms  ;  so  that  he  might 
even  impose  rites  and  ceremonies  upon  the  church  like  those  in  the 
Old  Testament;  a  position  which  to  many  appeared  heretical.  When 
the  Jews  accused  Christ  of  calling  himself  king,  Pilate  declared,  that 
he  found  no  fault  in  him,  since  he  well  understood  that  Christ  did  not 


1  According  to  the  statement  of  D'Ailly,  riculosum  sensum  trahere  molircntur,  tali 
at  the  Council  of  Paris,  in  the  year  1406.  modo  in  eo  conabor  procedere,  ut  ex  mo- 
Du  Boulay,  1.  c.  s.  238.  do  loquendi  non  quis  dicit,  sed  quid  dici- 

2  As  he  says  himself,  in  the  Octo  Ques-  tur  coacti  attendere,  mei  ob  odium,  nisi  ip- 
tiones,  near  to  the  end,  Goldasti  mon.  sos  malitia  vexaverit,  inauditain  nequa- 
tom.  ii,  fol.  391:  Ilium  autem  dominion  mi-  quam  nequiter  lanient  veritatem  :  perso- 
hi  quam  plurimum  venerandum,  qui  hoc  nam  enim  biviam  recitabo  et  saepius  opin- 
opus  componere  suis  precibus  me  induxit,  iones  contrarias  pertractabo.  non  solum 
rogo  et  obsecro,  ut  mini  indulgeat,  si  prae-  eas,  quibus  adversor,  sed  etiam  quibus 
scriptas  quaestiones  ad  intentionem  suam  ^mente  adhaereo,  hoc  tamen  nullatenus 
sim  minime  prosecutus,  quare  eas  discuti-  exprimendo,  interdum  scienter  pro  eis  ten- 
endas  voluit  et  mihi  tradidit  et  porrexit.  tative  sive  sophistice  allegando  in  persona 

3  As   he  says  himself,  in  the  beginning,  confirmatium  aliorum,  ut  pro  utraque  par- 
f.  314  :  Quia  sequens  opusculum,  ut  desid-  te  allegationibus  intellectis  veritatis  since- 
ero,  ad  manus  forte  perveniet  aemulorum,  rus  amator  purae  orationis  verum  a  falso 
qui  odio  stimulante  etiam  quae  ipsis  vera  habeat  discernendi  occasionem. 
videntur  (si  dicerem)  damnare,  vel  ad  pe- 


WILLIAM   OCCAM.  39 

mean  to  call  himself  a  king  in  temporal  things,  but  in  quite  another  sense, 
not  seeming  to  him  to  stand  in  any  contradiction  with  the  authority  of 
Caesar.  It  was  only  his  fear  of  the  threat  of  the  Jews,  to  accuse  him 
before  Csesar,  that  induced  him,  against  his  better  convictions,  to  con- 
sent to  pass  sentence  upon  Christ.  Hence  many  wonder,  how  it  should 
be  that  a  man  of  the  world,  like  the  heathen  Pilate,  should  gather 
this  from  Christ's  words,  whilst  many  christians  who  would  be  regarded 
even  as  teachers  of  the  law,  do  not  understand  it.  There  seems  to 
be  no  other  reason  for  it,  but  that  they  are  blinded  by  wrong  incli- 
nations. 

With  regard  to  the  power  to  bind  and  to  loose  bestowed  on  Peter, 
the  opinion  of  certain  persons  is  cited,  who  held  that  this  relates  only 
to  sins ;  and  even  in  *his  relation,  only  to  the  power  of  bestowing  the 
sacrament  of  penance ;  not  that  he  was  to  have  power  to  expunge 
guilt,  or  impart  grace,  for  this  lies  within  the  power  of  God  alone ; 
but  only  to  declare  men  discharged  in  the  view  of  the  church,  and  to 
impose  on  them  some  act  of  satisfaction  in  this  world ;  not  to  exercise 
any  coercive  jurisdiction.  It  is  clearly  seen  and  affirmed,  that  al- 
though under  the  Old  Testament  economy  the  priestly  power  was 
placed  above  the  royal,  yet  this  was  not  the  case,  under  the  New  Tes- 
tament ;  because  under  this,  a  spiritual  authority  only  is  bestowed  on 
the  clergy.1  We  perceive  already,  in  this  distinguishing  of  the  differ- 
ence between  Old  and  New  Testament  points  of  view  the  preparatory 
step  to  a  position  which  would  involve  the  overthrow  of  the  churchly 
theocratical  system  of  the  middle  ages.  Could  we,  it  is  said,  be  justi- 
fied in  applying  all  the  Old  Testament  relations  to  the  New  Testament 
evolution,  we  should  in  that  case  be  led  to  the  heretical  doctrine  of 
the  permanent  validity  of  the  Mosaic  law.2  All  that  the  pope  holds  in 
possession  beyond  what  is  necessary  for  his  temporal  support,  all  that 
belongs  to  the  worldly  pomp  and  magnificence  with  which  he  is  at  pre- 
sent environed,3  he  either  obtained  from  the  liberality  of  emperors, 
kings  and  other  believers,  or  has  tyranically  arrogated  to  himself  in  a 
way  contrary  to  God's  will,  to  reason  and  to  good  manners.  In  rela- 
tion, therefore,  to  that  which  he  lawfully  possessed,  he  was  not  suc- 
cessor of  Peter,  but  of  Constantine  and  other  emperors,  of  kings  and 
other  believers,  who  bestowed  these  things  on  the  pope  ;  but  in  no 
such  way  as  conferred  on  him  an  unlimited  right  of  property  in  all 
this  ;  for  he  was  obligated,  on  peril  of  his  salvation,  to  administer  all 
that  had  been  bestowed  over  and  above  what  was  necessary  for  his 
own  support,  according  to  the  will  and  purpose  of  the  donors.  And 
if  he  administered  it  otherwise,  he  was  guilty  of  a  breach  of  trust, 

1  Fol.  327 :  Esto,  quod  in   veteri  lege  reticalis  est,  quia  sequitur  ex  ipsa,  quod 

pontificalia  auctoritas  praelata  fuisset  eti-  circumcisionem,  discretionem  cibornm  et 

am  in  teraporalibus  dignitati  regali,  non  alia  caerimonalia  et  judicialia  veteris  le- 

taim  ii    esset    praef'erenda   in   nova   lege  :  gis  deberet  etiam  imitari.     Ibid. 

quia  auctoritas   poutitioalis  in  nova   lege  3  Omnia,  quae  ultra  ilia,  quae  sibi  neces- 

spiritualior  est  et  magis  a  terrenis  negotiis  Sana  sunt,  possidet,   sc.  civitates,  castra, 

elongata,  quam  t'uerit  auctoritas  pontirica-  amplas  possessionem  et  superabundantes,  et 

lis  in  veteri  lege,  quemadmodnm  lex  nova  jurisdictionem  temporalem  quamcunque, 

magis  est  spirituals,  quam  lex  vetus.  sicut  et  omnem  gloriam  mundanam,  qua 

i  iiespondetur,  quod  ista  allegatio  hae-  papa  nunc  rutilat. 


40  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

and  was  bound  to  make  restitution.1  The  sentences  passed  by  the 
pope  on  the  emperor  Louis  were  represented  as  null  and  void,  because 
the  pope  was  to  be  regarded  as  a  heretic ;  and  here  it  is  remarked, 
"  When  the  power  or  will  of  the  pope  becomes  matter  of  debate, 
christians  in  these  days  take  no  trouble  to  ascertain  for  themselves 
what  Christ  taught,  or  what  the  Apostles  or  the  fathers  have  thought 
on  this  subject,  though  it  be  ever  so  plain  and  manifest.  But  what- 
ever may  happen  to  please  the  pope,  that  they  adopt,  prompted  by 
fear,  or  favor,  or  fleshly  desires ;  and  try  to  wrest  those  passages  of 
Scripture  which  assert  the  contrary  into  some  agreement  with  the 
fables  which  they  have  dreamed.2  They  transfer  to  the  pope  the 
honor  which  is  due  to  God  alone ;  and,  in  contradiction  with  the 
Apostle  Paul,  make  christian  faith  to  consist  in  the  wisdom,  or  rather 
in  the  will  of  the  pope,  not  in  that  which  holy  Scripture  teacheth."3 
Then  it  was  shown  that  the  excuses  commonly  offered  with  a  view  to 
exculpate  the  pope  from  the  charge  of  heresy  were  of  no  force.  The 
pope  was  said  to  have  held  forth  dogmas,  declared  to  be  heretical, 
only  historically  or  in  the  way  of  disputation.  On  the  contrary,  it 
was  maintained,  that  were  the  matter  rightly  inquired  into,  it  might 
be  clearly  established,  that  he  had  beyond  all  doubt  set  these  things 
forth  as  positive  assertions.  Neither  could  he  be  exculpated  on  the 
ground  that  he  had  at  the  end  of  his  life  recanted  whatever  he  had 
wrongly  asserted ;  for  this  recantation  was  a  conditional  one,  such  as 
any  heretic,  however  obstinate,  might  offer.  And  even  supposing  this 
might  suffice  to  excuse  him,  then  he  should  still  be  regarded  as  having 
been  a  heretic  in  the  time  preceding  this  recantation.4  The  maxim 
of  Augustine,  "  Ego  vero  evangelio  non  crederem,  nisi  me  catholicae 
ecclesiae  commoveret  auctoritas,"  is  in  his  Dialogue,5  thus  explained: 
By  the  ecclesia  we  are  here  to  understand  the  collective  multitude 
of  all  the  faithful  from  the  times  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  down 
to  the  present ;  to  which  collective  body  belongs  also  the  founder  of 
the  gospel  dispensation ;  and  the  part  is  greater  than  the  whole.6  In 
the  second  book,  the  proofs  are  arrayed  in  defence  of  the  position  that 
no  doctrine  incapable  of  being  proved  from  holy  Scripture,  was  to  be 
acknowledged  as  catholic  and  necessary  to  salvation;  neither  the 
church  nor  the  pope  could  make  new  articles  of  faith. 

The  pope  who  came  after  John  XXII.,  Benedict  XII.,  is  said  to  have 
been  a  quite  different  man  from  his  predecessor.  He  was  decidedly 
opposed  to  nepotism.     His  relatives  could  get  nothing  from  him.     He 

1  Fol.  385.  3  Fidem  Christianam  contra  apostolum 

2  Ubi  de  potestate  vel  etiam  de  volun-  in  sapientia  vel  potius  voluntate  pupae, 
tate  papae  tit  sermo,  non  curant  Christiani  non  voluntate  scripturae  ponentes.  Ibid. 
scire  his  diebus,  quid  Christus  docuit,  nee  4  Fol.  390. 

quod  apostoli  senserunt  et  sancti  patres,  5  Between  Scholar  and  Teacher. 

quamvis  ratione  mauifesta  hoc  doceretur  ;  6  Non  quia  de  evangelio  sit  aliqualiter 

sed  quod  placet  papae,  timore  vel  amore  dubitandum,  sed  quia  totum  majus  est  sua 

aut  cupiditate  carnis  amplectuntur,  et  ad  parte.     Ecclesia  ergo,  quae  majoris  aucto- 

fabulas,  quas  somniaverunt,  scripturas  et  ritatis  est,  quam  evangelista,  est  ilia  eccle- 

prophetias  student  trahere  repugnantes,  et  sia,  cujus  auctor  evangelii  pars  esse  agno- 

sic  ad  Papam  transferee  videntur  honorifi-  scitur.  Lib.  1,  c.  4,  Goldast.  1.  1,  fol.  402. 
ceutiani  creatoris.    Fol.  390. 


BENEDICT    XII.  41 

took  great  pains  to  fill  the  vacant  sees  with  pious  and  able  men  ;  he 
preferred  rather  to  let  vacancies  remain  for  a  long  time  unoccupied, 
than  to  fill  them  with  worthless  incumbents.  He  was  a  rigid  censor 
of  the  degenerate  clergy  and  monks  :  he  sought  in  particular  to  reform 
the  monastic  orders.  But  there  are  also  other  reports  about  him,  differ- 
ing widely  from  all  this.  He  is  described  as  a  harsh,  covetous  man, 
given  to  immoderate  drinking,  the  author  of  the  saying :  Bibamus  pa- 
paliter.  Yet  it  may  be  questioned,  whether  the  severity  of  this  pope 
as  a  reformer  so  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  many  may  not  have 
been  the  occasion  of  reports  so  injurious  to  his  reputation.1  The 
emperor' Louis  offered  his  hand  again  to  this  pope,  for  peace  ;  and  the 
latter  would  gladly  have  accepted  it ;  but  he  found  it  impossible  to 
break  loose  from  his  dependance  on  the  French  interest. 

Benedict  again  was  succeeded,  in  the  year  1843,  by  a  man  of 
quite  opposite  character ;  a  Frenchman,  of  an  altogether  worldly  tem- 
per, devoid  of  all  interest  in  religion,  having  a  bad  reputation  as  to  his 
morals,  more  devoted  to  worldly  politics  than  to  the  affairs  of  religion, 
and  in  his  politics  wholly  dependant  on  the  French  court.  This  was 
Clement  VI.2  To  the  Romans  he  gave  an  indemnification  for  what 
they  had  lost  by  the  long  absence  of  the  popes,  by  reducing  to  fifty 
years  the  centennial  jubilee  which  had  proved  a  source  of  so  much 
profit  to  them  under  Boniface  VIII.  This  was  done  by  the  famous 
constitution  Unigenitus,  which  he  published  in  the  year  1349.3  The 
pope  assigned  as  a  reason  for  it  the  sacredness  of  the  number  fifty 
according  to  the  Old  Testament,  a  number  according  to  which  also 
followed  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  doctrine  of  indul- 
gence was  here  expounded  conformably  to  the  determinations  already 
given  to  it,  that  Christ  had  gained  for  his  church  a  treasure,  and  had 
committed  it  to  her  keeping,  and  more  particularly  to  the  successors 
of  the  Apostle  Peter,  to  whom  he  had  entrusted  the  guidance  of  the 
church.  To  this  had  been  added  the  merits  of  Mary  and  of  all  the  elect. 
There  was  no  fear  that  such  a  treasure  could  ever  be  diminished ;  be- 
cause the  merits  of  Christ  were  infinite,  and  because  the  greater  the 
number  who  should  be  incited  by  the  appropriation  of  this  treasure  to 
strive  after  righteousness,  the  more  would  be  added  to  it.  The  empe- 
ror Louis  renewed  his  negotiations  with  this  pope,  and  he  was  ready 

1  Thus  John  of  Winterthur  puts  both  nales  fore  deceptores  sui  credebat.     Ordi- 

together,  fol.  39,  describing  him  as  a  re-  nes  mendicantium  supra  modum  exosos 

former   of   monachism    and    potator   vini  habebat. — Huic  maxime  insitum  cordi  fuit, 

permaximus.     The  same  thing  appears  in  clericos  et  religiosorum  ordinuin  professo- 

the  8  vita  in  Baluz  pap.  Aven.  t.  I,  Paris,  res  et  status  reformare  et,  ut  dieatur  verius, 

1693,  f.  240,  where  we  plainly  see  that  it  inrirmare.     The  same  writer  also  cites  the 

was  just  the  severity  of  the  pope  as  a  re-  by-word  which  proceeded  from  him. 
former  which  provoked  and  occasioned  the        2  In  the   Chronicle  of  Albert  of  Stras- 

accusations  laid  against  him.  The  censures  burg,  it  is  said  of  him  :  Hie  ab  antecesso- 

are  such  as  mi^ht  possibly  have  been  called  ris  sui  moribus  multum  distans,  mulieruui, 

forth   by  qualities    which  really  deserved  honorum  et  potentiae  cupidus,  curiam  de 

praise.     Hie  papa  avarus,  durus  et  tenax,  simonia  diffamans,  ipse  Francos  Franco 

in  conferendis  gratiis  remissus,  tardus  et  ferventer  adhaesit.     Urctis.  German,  his- 

negligens  in  providendo  statum  ecclesia-  tone,  post  llenrie.  IV.  pars  alt.   Francof. 

rum  supra  modum  fuit,  et  in  excusatione  1585,  fol.  133. 

duritiae  suaepaucos  ad  haec  dignos  et  suf-        ;t  Printed  in  Raynaldi,  Annales,  at  the 

ticientes  dieebat.     Omnes  dominos  eardi-  year  1349.  §  11. 

4* 


42  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

to  do  anything  that  might  be  required  of  him  to  purchase  peace.  But 
the  pope  who  cared  nothing  for  the  distracted  condition  of  the  German 
people,  who  looked  at  nothing  but  his  own  worldly  interests,  to  which 
everything  else  was  sacrificed,  contrived  purposely  to  have  the  matter 
put  off  without  coming  to  any  agreement ;  for  the  imperial  dignity  was 
to  be  transferred  to  another  person,  related  to  the  royal  family  of 
France,  and  educated  to  principles  of  depenclance  on  the  papacy. 
This  was  Prince  Charles  of  Bohemia,  afterwards  the  emperor  Charles 
IV.  In  Germany,  the  pope's  measures  called  forth  violent  reactions 
in  favor  of  freedom,  movements  of  the  city  communities  devoted  to 
the  emperor,  who  were  unwilling  to  have  an  emperor  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  pope — against  those  ecclesiastics  and 
monks,  who  strictly  observed  the  papal  interdict.  Thus,  for  example, 
the  clergy  of  Constance  were  twice  banished,  because  they  refused  to 
hold  divine  service.1  Many  monks  in  different  districts  of  Germany 
were  for  the  same  reason  driven  away,  and  the  people  shouted  after 
them  as  they  left,  that  it  would  be  a  long  time  before  they  came  back 
again.  When  four  years  afterwards  they  showed  an  inclination  to 
obey  the  emperor,  and  to  recommence  the  public  worship  of  God,  they 
still  were  not  permitted  to  return. 

The  distractions  which  grew  out  of  these  divisions,  added  to  the  de- 
vastations occasioned  by  that  desolating  scourge,  the  black  plague,  had 
a  great  influence  upon  the  religious  tone  of  feeling.  The  more  se- 
riously disposed  were  recalled  from  the  conflict  of  the  passions  and 
the  schisms  of  the  world  without,  were  led  to  enter  into  the  depths  of 
their  own  being,  to  collect  their  thoughts  to  God  and  before  Him  — 
the  inward  self-collection  of  mysticism  among  a  class  of  monks  and 
laymen  who  united  to  form  pious  communities,  calling  themselves 
Friends  of  God  in  South  Germany,  the  countries  on  the  Rhine,  France, 
Swabia  and  Alsace.  John  of  Winterthur  laments  that  the  emperor 
and  pope  should  sacrifice  the  general  weal  to  their  private  passions 
and  personal  interests  ;2  that  they  should  have  God  and  the  welfare  of 
the  church  and  state  so  little  before  their  eyes,  and  seek  only  their 
own.  He  ascribes  all  this  to  the  secularization  of  the  church  ;  and 
taking  up  the  ancient  legend  already  alluded  to,  he  says  :  On  the  be- 
stowment  of  that  gift  of  the  emperor  Constantine  to  the  Roman 
bishop  Silvester,  rightly  was  the  voice  heard  from  heaven,  saying, 
To-day  a  cup  of  poison  is  poured  upon  the  church.  In  the  events 
of  the  time  he  beholds  the  most  striking  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
these  words.  The  confounding  together  of  things  spiritual  and  secu- 
lar, the  love  of  earthly  things  reigning  supreme  in  the  church,  ap- 
pear to  him  the  true  source  of  all  the  then  existing  schisms  and 
wars.3  What  the  apostle  Paul  said  of  the  perils  of  the  last  times, 
seems  to  him  to  be  already  passing  into  fulfilment. 

1  John  of  Winterthur,  at  the  year  1343,  tarn  oculis  mentis  quam  carnis,  imo  expe- 
f  60.  rimur  malis  quotidianis  graviter  et  impor- 

2  Fol.  69.  tabiliter,  jaeturam  et  dispendia  bonorum, 

3  After  the  citation  of  those  words  :  corporum,  animarum  et  rerum  propter  hoc 
Quod  hodierna  die  luce  clarius  cernimus  sustinendo.   Proprie  venenum  ecclesiae  in- 


CLEMENT    VI.  43 

The  emperor  ordered  fasts  and  penitential  processions,  in  which  he 
zealously  took  part  himself  to  implore  the  Almighty,  that  by  the  outpour- 
ing of  his  Holy  Spirit,  he  would  bring  peace  to  the  church.  But  the 
pope,  having  once  made  uphis  mind,  that  another  man  should  be  emperor, 
prescribed  to  Louis  conditions  so  severe,  that  the  princes  would  not 
consent  to  an  humiliation  of  the  emperor,  so  derogatory  to  the  honor 
of  the  empire.  The  quarrels  about  the  observance  of  the  interdict 
still  went  on  in  Germany,  as  well  as  the  schism  that  grew  out  of  it. 
Many  ecclesiastics  who  were  sincerely  desirous  of  holding  divine  wor- 
ship again  in  places  that  had  been  laid  under  the  interdict,  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  pope's  avarice,  and  purchased  absolution  at  the  price 
of  a  florin.1  John  of  Winterthur  complains  bitterly  of  the  corruption 
of  the  church  in  relating  this :  "  0  what  a  deplorable  and  abominable 
schism  and  disgrace  has  fallen  upon  the  church  in  these  times !  The 
words  of  the  gospel —  Freely  ye  have  received,  and  freely  give, 
seem  to  have  been  spoken  in  vain."  This  state  of  things  lasted 
until  the  emperor's  death  in  the  year  1347. 

It  was  now  required  that  homage  should  be  paid  throughout  Ger- 
many to  Charles  IV.  as  the  emperor  acknowledged  by  the  pope.  Yet 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  attempted  to  carry  this  out  provoked  vio- 
lent opposition  of  various  kinds.  The  German  spirit  revolted  more 
and  more  against  the  Roman  yoke.  A  more  general  consciousness 
was  awakened  of  the  corruption  of  the  church,  and  longing  for  its  puri- 
fication. The  hard  conditions  which  the  pope  saw  fit  to  require  in 
bestowing  absolution  on  those  who  had  been  placed  under  the  ban  on 
account  of  their  connection  with  the  emperor  Louis,  contributed  still 
more  to  excite  the  minds  of  numbers  who  still  cherished  an  affection- 
ate remembrance  of  the  unfortunate  emperor,  and  who  were  disgusted 
with  the  yoke  of  Roman  bondage.  Men  were  required  to  swear,  that 
they  would  renounce  their  old  errors,  consider  the  emperor  Louis  as 
excommunicated,  never  attribute  to  an  emperor  the  power  of  deposing 
the  pope,  never  acknowledge  any  man  to  be  emperor,  save  the  one 
nominated  or  confirmed  by  the  pope.  These  demands  were  in  several 
districts  violently  resisted,  and  called  forth  the  most  decided  reactions  of 
a  spirit  in  favor  of  freedom.  In  many  places,  in  Basle  for  example,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  yield  to  the  fierce  clamors  of  the  people,  and 
to  suspend  the  interdict  without  farther  ado.  Here,  too,  the  clergy 
had  an  opportunity  presented  to  them  for  gratifying  their  avarice. 
The  consecration  of  burial  places,  supposed  to  have  been  profaned, 
might  now  be  converted  into  a  means  of  gain.  From  forty  to'  sixty 
florins  were  demanded  as  the  price  for  this  service.  The  conscious- 
ness of  the  corruption  of  the  church  now  generally  awakened,  and  the 
temper  of  the  people  who  earnestly  longed  for  its  regeneration,  ex- 
pressed themselves  in  a  legend  which  started  up  afresh  and  spread 

fusum  a  voce  mcmorata  dicitur,  quia  ilia  regnis  ct  terrenia  bonis  sen  possession ilms 

liberalis  datio  Constantini fames  etoccasio,  temporalibus  capiendis  exstitit. 
quamquam   bono  zelo  fccerit,  schismatis         '  John  of  Winterthur,  at  the  year  1345, 

praelibati,  contentionum,  praeliorum,  ho-  fol.  78  :    Hujusmodi    autem  absolutio  pro 

inocidiorum,  scandaloium innumerabilium  uno  rlorcno  facillime  obtinebatur. 
a  capitibus  sacerdotuin  promotorum,  pro 


41  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

far  and  wide,  importing  that  the  emperor  Frederic  II.  was  soon  to 
arise  from  the  dead  to  execute  with  his  mighty  arm  a  sentence  of  re- 
tributive justice  on  the  corrupt  clergy,  and  to  restore  the  church  in 
renovated  splendor.  John  of  Winterthur,  who  relates  the  story,  com- 
pares this  expectation  with  that  of  the  Jews  who  were  looking  for  the 
Messiah  to  restore  their  place  and  nation.  The  ten  years'  reign  of 
Innocent  VI.  extending  to  1362,  passed  away  in  tranquillity.  He 
again  was  favorably  distinguished  among  the  popes  of  Avignon,  for 
the  disposition  he  manifested  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  church, 
and  to  frown  on  growing  abuses.  He  died  in  the  year  1362,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Urban  V.  Urban  received  more  and  more  press- 
ing invitations  to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  deeply  depressed  Roman 
church  in  Italy.  Petrarch,  who  had  always  borne  emphatic  testi- 
mony against  the  corruption  of  the  papal  court  at  Avignon,  addressed 
to  this  pope1  a  letter,  invalidating  all  the  scruples  against  the  re-con- 
veyance of  the  papacy  to  Rome,  and  calling  upon  him  in  the  strong- 
est language,  to  return  to  the  ancient  seat  of  the  pontiffs.  He  tried 
to  convince  the  cardinals,  men  devoted  to  their  pleasures,  that  in  Italy 
too,  a  land  so  highly  blessed  by  nature,  nothing  would  be  found  wanting ; 
and  that  they  who  felt  it  impossible  to  give  up  the  wines  of  South- 
ern France,  needed  not  after  all,  to  be  much  afraid  of  the  exchange.  He 
asked  the  cardinals,  whether  they  had  rather  be  buried  in  Avignon 
among  the  worst  sinners  in  the  world,  than  in  Rome,  among  saints  and 
martyrs.  At  length,  in  the  year  1367,  Urban  made  an  attempt  to  return ; 
and  he  was  received  in  Rome  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy.  But  the 
French  cardinals  soon  pined  again  after  the  old  seat  of  their  pleasures, 
and  Urban  was  prevailed  upon  to  yield  to  their  wishes.  He  repaired  once 
more,  in  1370,  to  Avignon,  where  he  died  on  the  very  year  of  his  return. 
His  successor  was  cardinal  Roger,  a  celebrated  Jurist  and  Canonist, 
called  Gregory  XI.  Before  he  became  pope,  he  had  expressed  himself 
strongly  in  favor  of  transporting  the  papal  court  back  to  Rome.  Both 
Catharine  of  Siena,  then  held  in  high  veneration  as  a  saint,  and  Bri- 
gitta  of  Sweden,  called  upon  him  in  the  most  urgent  manner  to  accom- 
plish this  object.  A  bishop,  whom  he  reprimanded  for  living  away  from 
his  see,  retorted  upon  him,  by  asking  why  he  did  not  do  better  then  him- 
self. In  the  year  1376,  he  returned  back  with  a  part  of  the  car- 
dinals to  Rome.     He  shortly  after  died  in  the  year  1378. 

We  might  predict  beforehand  that  the  death  of  this  pope  would  be 
followed  by  the  most  violent  commotions.  The  Roman  people,  noto- 
rious for  their  turbulent  spirit,  were  thoroughly  determined  that  ano- 
ther Frenchman  should  not  be  pope,  that  no  one  should  be  chosen  but 
an  Italian,  and  an  Italian  of  whom  it  might  reasonably  be  expected 
that  he  would  take  up  his  residence  in  Rome.  Among  the  cardinals 
themselves,  too,  a  great  schism  could  not  fail  to  arise  between  those 
of  Italian  and  those  of  French  descent.  The  latter  longed  to  get 
back  to  Avignon,  or  if  they  were  still  there,  were  not  inclined  to  leave 
France,  and  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  they  would  consent  to 
choose  an  Italian.     But  neither  could   the  Italian  cardinals  be  easily 

1  Epp.  Senil.  1.  7,  1.    Oper.  ed.  Basil,  p.  811. 


URBAN    V. — GREGORY    XI.  45 

induced  to  consent  to  the  choice  of  a  Frenchman.  As  it  was  not 
difficult  to  foresee  the  disturbances  which  would  be  likely  to  inter- 
rupt the  election  of  a  new  pope,  Gregory  XI.  had,  previous  to  his 
death,  issued  a  bull  suspending  the  ordinances  then  in  force  relating 
to  the  form  of  the  papal  election,  and  decreeing  that  the  cardinals 
should  be  at  liberty,  in  case  of  need,  to  meet  for  this  election  in 
some  place  without  the  walls  of  Rome,  and  to  proceed  directly  with- 
out waiting  for  their  absent  colleagues,  to  the  choice  of  a  pope,  and 
that  he  who  had  the  majority  of  votes  should  immediately  enter  upon 
his  office.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to  carry  this  bull  into  effect.  For 
what  could  induce  the  turbulent  Roman  people  to  permit  the  cardinals 
to  leave  Rome  for  the  express  purpose  of  proceeding  to  the  election 
in  another  place  less  exposed  to  the  influences  which  the  Romans 
would  be  very  glad  to  exercise. 

As  it  regards  the  events  that  followed,  to  determine  the  course 
which  they  actually  took,  belongs  among  the  most  difficult  problems 
of  historical  criticism.  The  reports  bear  on  their  very  face  the  stamp 
of  opposite  party-interests ;  on  the  one  side  an  interest  to  magnify  the 
dangers  which  the  cardinals  imagined  they  had  reason  to  apprehend  from 
the  menacing  posture  of  the  Roman  people,  with  a  view  to  represent  the 
election  that  had  taken  place  under  such  influences  as  forced,  and 
therefore  null  and  void  ;  on  the  other  side,  an  interest  to  keep  out  of 
sight  everything  that  implied  constraint,  with  a  view  to  establish  the 
validity  of  the  election  as  one  altogether  regular.  We  have  good 
cause,  no  doubt,  to  look  upon  both  these  classes  of  reports  as  lia- 
ble, for  different  reasons,  to  suspicion,  and  to  be  on  our  guard  against 
exaggerations  on  one  side  as  well  as  on  the  other.  By  abstracting 
a  little  from  both  sides,  we  shall  be  most  likely  to  succeed  in  mak- 
ing some  approximation  towards  the  truth.  It  may  readily  be  con- 
ceived that  the  uneasy  Romans  would  not  be  disposed  to  remain 
quiet,  and  patiently  await  the  issue  of  the  election  ;  that  desperately 
opposed  as  they  were  to  the  choice  of  a  Frenchman,  they  would  do 
all  they  could  by  playing  upon  the  fears  of  the  cardinals,  to  prevent  them 
from  making  such  a  choice  ;  nor  would  it  probably  have  required  a 
very  great  effort,  to  produce  the  necessary  degree  of  terror  in  the 
enervated  and  effeminate  body  of  men  of  whom  we  are  speaking,  to 
excite  in  them  that  fear  of  death,  which  in  the  customary  phraseology 
of  those  times  was  called  a  Metus  qui  cadit  etiam  in  constantem  virum. 
But  from  this  it  does  not  follow,  that  the  pope's  election  was  a  forced 
one,  a  sham  election,  even  though  it  may  have  been  true  that  the  car- 
dinals under  different  influences,  would  have  made  a  different  choice. 
We  should  endeavor  to  present  distinctly  before  us  the  relations  then 
existing  among  the  cardinals  in  order  to  understand  the  reasons  which 
really  led  to  the  choice  that  was  made.  There  were  twenty-three  car- 
dinals, of  whom  seventeen  were  French.  Six  of  these  had  remained 
behind  in  Avignon.  Now  the  clamor  of  the  Romans,  demanding  that 
a  Roman,  or  at  least  an  Italian  should  be  pope,1  produced,  doubtless, 

1  Romano  lo  volemo  o  almanco  Italia-  party,  Boulay  hist,  univers.  Paris  t.  IV. 
no,  according  to  the  report  of  the  French    f.  470. 


46  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

a  not  unimportant  impression  on  the  French  cardinals  constituting  the 
majority.  But  in  addition  to  this,  a  coalition  party  had  been  form- 
ed ;  a  circumstance  which,  as  often  happens,  brought  about  a  result 
that  under  other  circumstances  was  not  to  be  expected  ;  but  a  result 
too,  which,  for  the  very  reason  that  it  had  proceeded  from  nothing  but 
such  a  coalition,  might  easily  excite  discontent.  Among  the  French 
themselves,  there  were  two  parties,  one  which  was  determined  to  have 
a  pope  from  the  province  of  Limoisin,  another  which  protested  against 
such  a  choice.  Now  the  latter,  merely  from  opposition  to  the  former, 
might  prefer  to  go  with  the  Italians  in  electing  an  Italian  pope.  The 
individual  on  whom  they  united  was  a  man  to  whom  no  great  impor- 
tance was  attached  by  any  body ;  a  man  who  until  this  time  had  been 
known  only  for  his  rigid  ascetic  bent,  who  had  occupied  himself  with 
nothing  but  the  administration  of  his  episcopal  office  —  a  man  from 
whom  no  party  felt  that  it  had  anything  to  fear.  This  was  archbishop 
Prignano  of  Bari,  a  Neapolitan,  who  took  the  name  of  Urban  VI. 
The  cardinals,  in  their  circular  letters,  announced  this  choice  as  an  un- 
doubtedly regular  one  ;  and  they  gave  notice  of  it  to  their  absent  col- 
leagues at  Avignon.  But  no  great  stress,  we  must  allow,  is  to  be 
laid  on  the  declarations  of  a  college,  composed  of  so  many  heartless 
and  utterly  corrupt  men.  While  they  thus  expressed  themselves  pub- 
licly, one  of  the  French  cardinals  wrote  secretly  to  the  French  king 
that  no  declaration  which  they  might  make,  whilst  they  remained  in 
Rome,  was  to  be  relied  upon ;  for  they  were  governed  by  the  fear  of 
the  Roman  people.1  Yet  Urban  VI.  would  probably,  by  a  wise  and 
prudent  course  of  conduct,  have  been  able  to  secure  peace  and  unani- 
mity. But  he  ruined  everything,  by  the  haughty  bearing  which  he 
assumed,  and  by  his  indiscreet  and  passionate  behavior.  The  cardi- 
nals found  him  to  be  an  entirely  different  man  from  what  they  had 
expected.  They  were  the  more  exasperated  against  him  on  this  ac- 
count ;  and  many,  who  for  other  reasons  had  been  unwilling  to  recog- 
nize an  Italian,  now  only  4ooked  about  for  an  opportunity  to  get  rid 
of  him.  The  disaffected  complained  of  the  hot  season  of  the  year, 
as  a  pretext  for  leaving  Rome.  They  betook  themselves  to  Anag- 
ni.  There,  before  the  archbishop  of  Aries,  chamberlain  of  the  Ro- 
man church,  they  solemnly  protested  against  the  validity  of  Urban's 
election.  They  declared  it  to  have  been  made  under  constraint.  In  a 
circular  letter  they  declared  it  to  have  been  their  expectation  that  Urban 
himself,  knowing  the  invalidity  of  his  election,  would  never  think  of  call- 
ing himself  pope.  They  declared  him,  therefore,  to  be  a  disturber  of  the 
peace  of  the  church,  a  perjured  man,  a  destroyer  of  Christendom  ; 
and  they  forbade  obedience  to  him  as  pope,  under  penalty  of  the  ban. 
Next,  they  repaired  to  a  place  of  security,  to  Ferredi,  for  the  purpose 
of  proceeding  to  a  new  election,  when  three  Italians  joined  themselves 
to  the  French  cardinals.  At  this  election  they  assuredly  did  not  di- 
rect their  attention  to   any  of  the  qualifications,  spiritual  or  clerical, 

1  Thus  relates  the  then  Vice-Chancellor  de  Hessia,  in  his  Dialogue  de  Schismate, 
of  the  University  of  Paris,  Master  Henry,  as  Boulay  reports  in  his  hist.  Univers.  Pa- 
of  Langenstein  in  Hessia,  called  Henricus    ris,  t.  IV.  f.  463. 


BEGINNINGS    OF   THE    SCHISM    IN    THE    CHURCHES.  47 

requisite  for  such  an  office  ;  but  they  looked  about  only  for  a  man 
who  could  best  serve  their  purposes,  and  made  choice  of  one  whose 
chief  title  to  importance  was  his  relationship  to  princely  families, 
and  the  large  stretch  of  his  conscience.1  This  was  the  Cardinal  bish- 
op Robert  of  Cambray,  who  named  himself  pope  Clement  VII. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  forty  years'  schism   in  the  Western 
church,  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  links  in  the  chain  of  events, 
which  contributed  to  the  overthrow  of  the  papal  absolutism  of  the  mid- 
dle age,  and  to  prepare  for  the  great  reaction  of  the  christian  mind 
which  took  place  in  the  sixteenth  century.     We  have,  indeed,  seen 
already  in  earlier  times  schisms  occasioned  by  the  election  of  a  pope ; 
these,  however,  were  of  no  long  duration  ;  nor  did  they  lead  to  any 
such  deeply  cut  division  in  the  church.     The  way  in  which  this  schism 
arose   is  evidence  in  itself  of  the   great  corruption  of  the  cardinals  ; 
and  as  the  corruption  of  a  part  is  ever  closely  connected  with  some 
defect  of  the  whole,  and  presents  a  good  reason  for  inferring  a  com- 
mon guilt ;  so  it  was  in  the  present  case  with  regard  to  the  gene- 
ral condition  of  the  church.     If,  already,  during  the  residence  of  the 
popes  at  Avignon,   the  abuses  in  the  church  had  spread  so  widely, 
and  risen  to  so  enormous  a  pitch,  yet  all  became  still  worse  during 
this    schism    and  by  means  of  it.     As  the  dominion  of  each  of  the 
two  popes  was  circumscribed  in  its  province,  and  as  each  must  main- 
tain his  state  in  contending  with  the  other,  so  they  were  forced  to  resort 
to  still  greater  extortions  than  had  ever  been  practised,  to  the  com- 
plete prostration  of  the   church.        Simony,   and  the  mischief  of  in- 
dulgences,   arbitrary    will  in    selecting    candidates   for    ecclesiastical 
offices,  got  more  and  more  the  upper  hand.     But  it  seems  to  have 
been  necessary  that  the  corruption  of   the  church  should  reach  its 
highest  point,  in  order    to  make    every  one   sensible  of   it,  and    to 
awaken  a  more  general  attention  to  the  causes  of  so  great  an  evil. 
An  examination  free  from  all  bias  would  undoubtedly  have  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  Urban's  election  was  regularly  conducted ;  and  in  the 
reasons  brought  forward  to   prove  the  contrary  it  is  impossible  not  to 
see  a  great  deal  that  is  sophistical.     But  as  national   party  interest 
soon  mixed  itself  in  with  this  inquiry,  while  Urban  VI.  did  everything 
on  his  part,  to  excite  the  prejudices  of  men   against  him,  so  there 
might  be  much  sharp  fighting  on  both  sides,  with  the  weapons  of  that 
sort  of  polemical  warfare,  which  is  waged  in  behalf  of  opposite  incli- 
nations ;  and  as  important  men  were  to  be  seen  on  both  sides,  it  would 
be  found  so  much  the  more  difficult  for  those  who  were  governed  only 
by  the  authority  of  names,  to  decide  who  was  true  pope.     And  when 
men  had  continued  for  a  long  time  to  be  in  doubt  as  to  who  was  the 
true  pope,  the  faith  in  the  necessity  of  one  visible  head  would  necessarily 
become  unsettled.  Itwas  impossible  to  put  an  end  to  the  mischievous 
schism  so  long  as  the  traditional  forms  and  principles  of  ecclesiastical 
laws  were   tenaciously  adhered  to.     It  was  necessary  to  recognize  a 
tribunal  still  higher  even  than  the  pope,  in  order  at  length  to  bring  the 

1  Largae  conscientiae,  as  Thcodoric  of     Rome,  calls  it,  in  his  work  de  schismate 
Niein      then   the  pope's   chamberlain   in     lib.  1,  cap.  10. 


48  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

contests  between  the  conflicting  parties  to  a  decision.     Accordingly  it 
was  necessary  to  turn  away  from  papal  absolutism  to  the  principles  of 
the  ancient  and  freer  ecclesiastical  law.     Bat  it  was  necessary  also 
that  it  should  be  clearly  understood,  that  the  schism  was  not  the  only, 
nor  yet  the  principal  evil  of  the  church.     It  was  necessary  in  fine  to 
recognize  in  all  this  only  a  symptom  of  a  still  more  deeply  lying  cor- 
ruption.    It  was  necessary  to  come  to  this,  to  be  conscious  that  the 
schism  itself  was  an  admonition  from  God  calling  upon  men  to  examine 
into  the    causes   of  the    corruption    of   the  church,  and  to  begin  to 
prepare  the  way  for  its  regeneration.     The  question  was  whether  by 
the  united  efforts  of  the  most  important  forces  so  deep-rooted  an  evil 
of  the  church  could  be  healed,   or   whether  all    these  efforts  would 
prove  fruitless,  and  thus  serve  only  to  fix  deeper  the  conviction  that 
the  church  needed  a  far  different  and  more  radical  cure.      Under 
these  more  favorable  circumstances,  it  became  possible  for  that  party 
so  long  suppressed,  which  in  contending  for  the  liberties  of  the   na- 
tional churches,  and  the  independence  of  the   episcopal  system,  had 
first  stood  forth  to  oppose  the  growth  and  formation  of  papal   absolut- 
ism, once  more  to  stand  up    in    the    struggle  with    that    absolutism 
which  now  formed  the  nucleus  for  all  the  corruptions  of  the  church. 
This  freer  tendency  had  its  seat  more  particularly  in  France,  and  in  this 
country  it  had  continued  to  maintain  the  struggle  for  the  longest  time. 
It  was  from  this  country  more  particularly,  therefore,  that  a  reaction 
of  this  sort  against  the  mediaeval  papacy  now  proceeded  again.     The 
theologians  of  the   University  of  Paris,  a  body  of  men   whose  voice 
had  the  most  important  influence  in  all  affairs  of  general  moment,  were 
the  most  prominent  representatives  and  organs  of  the  same.     Whilst, 
however,  this  party  confined  itself  simply  to  the  reform  of  the  church 
constitution,  holding  fast  to   the  foundation  of  the  churchly  theocrat- 
ical  system,  and  seeking  only  to   clear  away  from  it  the  rubbish  of 
later  additions,  another  was  gradually  developing  itself,  inclined  to  a 
more  thorough  and  radical  species  of  reform,  hostile  to  this  conserva- 
tive element,  a  party  which  attacked  the  reigning  system  at  its  very 
foundation,  demanding  a  regeneration  of  the  church  on  the  basis  of 
the  original  christian  principles,  foretokening  the  renovated  and  chris- 
tian spirit,  which  afterwards  broke  triumphantly  forth  in  the  German 
Reformation.     Of  this  the  great  movements  began  in   England  and 
Bohemia  ;  Wickliff  and  Huss  were  the  representatives  of  it ;  and  had  it 
not  been  for  that  schism  within  the  church,  that  enfeeblement  of  the  pa- 
pal power  brought  about  by  its  partition,  neither  could  these  movements 
have  arisen,  and  developed  themselves  to  the  extent  which  they  did.' 
The  new  pope  Clement  repaired  once  more  to  Avignon,  and  sought 
to  gain  over  to  his  side  the  voice  of  France.     Not  till  after   a  careful 
examination  of  the  claims  of  the  two  popes  before  an  assembly  of  the 
Gallic  church  held  at  Vincennes,  did   king  Charles,  with  the  whole 
church,  declare  in  favor  of  Clement.     The  University  of  Paris  was  in- 

1  Henry  of  Hessia  in  his  epistola  pacis ;    cos  et  fortitudo  militum  apud  Germanos. 
Sic  orbem  divisum,  ut  sapientia  fulgeat    Boulaeus  IV.  f.  576. 
apud  Gallicos,  aurum  abundet  apud  Itali- 


SCHISM    OF    THE    CHURCH    (UNIVERSITY    OF   PARIS.)  40 

elined  at  first  to  acknowledge  neither  of  the  two  individuals  who  had 
been  elected,  but  declaring  itself  neutral  to  propose  a  general  council 
which  should  investigate  the  whole  affair  and  bring  it  to  a  decision. 
It  was  predicted  that  unless  this  were  done,  the  seeds  of  schism 
would  every  day  become  more  widely  disseminated.  It  is  true,  the 
University  yielded  on  the  whole  to  the  decisions  of  the  council  of 
Vincennes,  and  to  the  invitation  of  the  king,  who  was  desirous  of 
having  the  concurrence  of  the  university  in  those  decisions ;  yet  a 
minority  still  held  fast  to  their  previous  opinions.  The  whole  church 
was  divided  into  three  parties,  the  Urbanists,  Clementines,  and  neutrals 
or  indifferents.  At  Paris,  Henry  of  Hessia  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
latter  party.  He  composed,  under  the  title  of  Epistola  pacis,  a  work 
in  the  form  of  a  dialogue,  between  an  Urbanist  and  Clementist  each 
of  whom  presents  the  arguments  of  his  own  party.  After  having  placed 
the  arguments  of  these  parties  one  against  the  other,  he  sums  up  with 
the  following  declaration  :  "  There  is  no  other  means  of  restoring  on 
a  solid  basis  the  peace  of  the  church  but  the  meeting  of  all  the  pre- 
lates in  a  general  council.  Without  this,  the  minds  of  men,  even 
though  one  of  the  two  popes  should  obtain  the  ascendancy,  could  not 
be  set  at  rest  for  any  great  length  of  time.  The  same  doubts  would 
arise  again  about  the  succession  of  one  or  the  other  of  them.1 

In  the  year  1381,  the  assembled  heads  of  the  University  of  Paris 
came  to  the  resolution  that  it  was  best  to  insist  upon  the  calling  of  a 
general  council  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  schism,  and  that 
they  would  use  their  utmost  endeavors  to  prevail  upon  the  princes  and 
prelates  to  resort  to  this  method.2  The  first  to  lift  up  his  voice  for  the 
calling  of  a  general  council  as  the  only  sure  means  of  restoring  peace 
to  the  church,  was  the  above-mentioned  Henry  of  Langenstein  in  Hes- 
sia, professor  of  theology  at  Paris,  in  his  "  Counsel  of  Peace,"  a  work 
composed  by  him  in  the  year  1381. 3 

He  looks  upon  the  evils  that  had  sprung  out  of  this  schism  as  an 
admonition  from  God,  designed  to  bring  men  to  a  consciousness  of  the 
corruption  of  the  church,  and  to  lead  them  to  seek  earnestly  after  the 
necessary  reform.4  He  thus  addresses  the  princes  and  prelates ; 
"  Humble  yourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  repent  and  do 
works  meet  for  repentance  for  the  evils  and  sins  which  have  been  the 
cause  of  this  schism."  He  notices  the  objections,  which  on  the  po- 
sition held  by  the  advocates  of  the  old  papal  absolutism  were  raised 
against  the  assembling  of  a  general  council,  and  endeavors  to  invalidate 
them,  first  by  assuming  the  position  itself  from  which  these  objections 
proceeded,  as  his  point  of  departure,  and  then  by  opposing  to  it  a  higher 
christian  position.  We  see  in  France  the  same  principles  employed  in 
reference  to  civil  and  to  ecclesiastical  law.     As  the  civilians  proceeded 

1  Extract  from  the  work  in     Bulaeus.        3  Consilium  pacis. 

The  end  f.  578  :  Absque. cujus    conventu  4  C.  3.  Hanc  tribulationem  a  Deo  non 

credo  vix  unquam  posse  ad  plenum  corda  gratis  pernwssam,  scd  in  necessariam  op- 

quietari  omnium.  portunamque  ecclesiae  reformatiouem  tiua- 

2  This,  Henry  of  Hessia  cites  in  his  Con-  liter  convertendam. 
silium  pacis  c.  13,  in  Hermann  Von  der 

Ilardt  Cone.  Const,  t.  II,  f.  33. 

VOL.    V.  5 


50  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

on  the  assumption,  that  the  weal  of  the  state  at  large  was  the  highest 
law,  to  which  the  kingly  power  itself  must  be  subservient,  and  attri- 
buted to  the  collective  body  the  right  to  revolt  against  and  depose  a 
ruler  who,  by  the  abuse  of  his  power,  should  act  contrary  to  the 
well-being  of  the  whole,  so  the  opponents  of  papal  absolutism  as- 
cribed the  same  power  to  the  church  at  large  in  relation  to  bad 
popes.  And  this  power  was  to  be  exercised  precisely  by  a  gene- 
ral council,  which  represented  the  whole  church.  Such  a  council, 
which  might  be  convoked  even  by  the  collective  body  of  cardinals, 
must  derive  its  authority  directly  from  Christ  himself,  the  eternal  and 
immutable  Head  of  the  church,  and  pass  its  resolutions  in  Ms  name. 
Christ,  the  author  regards  as  the  supreme,  the  only  unconditionally  ne- 
cessary Head  of  the  church,  standing  with  it  in  indissoluble  union  ; 
the  head  from  which  the  church,  his  mystical  body,  derives  incessantly 
the  movement  and  spirit  of  life.  Hence  she  cannot  err,  nor  as  a 
whole  be  stained  with  any  mortal  sin.  To  the  complete  organism  of 
the  church,  should  also  belong,  it  is  true,  the  papacy,  as  a  caput  secun- 
darium.  Yet  in  ease  of  a  vaeancy  in  the  papal  chair,  or  of  doubt  as  to 
what  person  was  true  pope,  the  absence  of  that  "  secondary  head  " 
must  admit  of  being  supplied  by  Christ  as  the  Head  inseparable  from 
the  church.  To  the  gift  of  Constantine  the  author  traces,  in  great 
part,  the  corruption  of  the  church  ;  though  he  acknowledges  that  it 
may  have  been  a  necessary  or  salutary  thing  for  the  church  at  a 
certain  stage  of  its  progress.  For  by  means  of  it  she  became  over- 
laden with  honor,  power  and  wealth ;  and  hence  it  came  about  that  so 
many,  without  distinction,  foolish  and  wise,  boys  and  old  men,  bad  and 
good,  by  right  and  by  wrong,  eagerly  sought  after  the  fat  benefices  of 
the  church.  He  suggests  many  single  projects  of  reform,  which  should  be 
discussed  by  the  general  council.  Among  these  belongs  the  renewal  of 
the  provincial  synods,  to  be  biennially  convened  :  the  doing  away  with 
the  superfluous  pomp  of  the  prelates  and  cardinals,  which  was  so  great, 
as  to  lead  them  sometimes  to  forget  they  were  men  ;  some  provision 
against  the  bad  management  of  patronage  and  appointments  to  eccle- 
siastical offices.  He  felt  it  necessary  to  complain  that  many  but  mod5- 
erately  educated  persons  held  five,  six  or  eight  benefices,  though  not 
worthy  of  holding  even  one.  "  See  to  it,"  says  he,  "  whether  horses, 
hounds,  falcons  and  the  superfluous  domestics  of  the  clergy  may  not 
at  the  present  time,  far  more  than  the  christian  poor,  be  eating  up  the 
heritage  of  the  church." 

Urban  VI.  was,  at  the  beginning,  the  pope  recognized  in  the  major- 
ity of  the  kingdoms.  The  places  of  those  cardinals  who  had  aban- 
doned him,  he  supplied  by  new  appointments.  But  he  ruined  his 
cause  by  his  own  passionate  wilfulness  and  extreme  imprudence.  He 
had  brought  it  about,  that  Duke  Charles  of  Durazzo  should  be  made 
king  of  Naples.  But  after  this  he  fell  into  a  quarrel  with  that  prince, 
because  he  refused  to  comply  with  the  pope's  wishes  in  promoting  one 

1  Henry's   own  words :  Ac  si  in  nullo  tare,  seu  prineipi  volenti  rempublieam  et 

easu  liceret  populo  vel  alicui  sine  auctori-  civium  universitatem  destruerc,  ad  cnjus 

tate  principis  contra  statuta  communia  pro  conservationem  est  constitutus,  tamquara 

defensione  sui  et  paternarum  legum  mili-  hosti  non  regi  resistere.  C.  15  f.  42. 


SCHISM    OF    THE    CHURCH     (BONIFACE    IX.)  51 

of  his  worthless  nephews.  He  himself  with  the  cardinals  repaired  to 
Naples,  for  the  purpose  of  working  upon  that  prince  by  his  personal  in- 
fluence. In  this,  however,  he  did  not  succeed,  but  was  drawn  into  a 
quarrel  with  Charles  which  daily  grew  more  bitter.  He  was  closely 
besieged  in  a  castle  ;  and  here  all  he  could  do  was  to  go  through  the 
idle  farce  of  stepping  twice  every  day  to  a  window,  and  pronouncing 
the  ban  on  the  whole  army.  At  length  he  was  set  free  by  a  Genoese 
fleet  and  transported  to  Genoa.  Several  cardinals,  who  had  grown 
tired  of  the  worthless  conduct  of  their  pope,  and  of  the  humiliations 
which  he  thus  drew  down  upon  himself,  consulted  with  one  another  as 
t  i  the  best  method  of  placing  the  pope  under  surveillance,  and  so  cir- 
cumscribing his  power,  as  to  keep  him  from  such  indiscreet  steps. 
Urban  having  been  informed  of  this,  caused  the  suspected  cardinals  to 
be  arrested.  His  vengeance  knew  no  bounds.  He  employed  the  rack 
to  lay  bare  the  whole  conspiracy.  Thus  he  made  himself  more  hate- 
ful every  day,  and  promoted  the  cause  of  his  opponent.  Urban,  who 
died  in  the  year  1389,  was  succeeded  by  Boniface  IX.,  a  man  desti- 
tute of  every  moral  quality,  as  well  as  the  knowledge  requisite  for  an 
ecclesiastical  office.  His  ruling  passion  was  the  love  of  money.  All 
means  were  right  to  him  which  could  minister  to  this  passion.  The 
well-being  of  the  church  went  with  him  for  nothing.  As  Theodoric 
of  Niem  reports,  he  was  ignorant  of  all  business  in  the  Roman  chan- 
cery, and  hence  approved  of  everything  that  happened  to  be  laid  be- 
fore him.1  "  In  secular  things  —  says  the  same  writer  —  he  was  not 
a  little  fortunate  ;  but  weak  in  spiritual  things."2  When  mass  was 
celebrated  before  him  in  the  midst  of  many  assembled  prelates,  this  or 
that  secretary  would  ever  and  anon  be  coming  to  him,  to  make  some 
report  about  pecuniary  matters,  which  to  him  were  the  most  moment- 
ous of  all.3 

His  accession  to  office  happened  at  a  time  which  might  bring  large 
accessions  of  gain  to  one  who  did  nothing  but  make  traffic  of  spiritual 
things  to  the  ruin  of  the  church.  Pope  Clement  VI.  had,  as  we  have 
remarked,  already  reduced  the  time  of  the  jubilee  to  fifty  years.  It 
was  probably  the  hope  of  gain  that  induced  Urban  VI.  to  shorten  the 
time  to  thirty-three  years.  He  died  on  the  very  year  when  this  pe- 
riod returned,  and  left  the  fruits  to  his  successor.  An  innumerable 
multitude  from  Germany,  Hungary,  Poland,  Bohemia,  England,  and 
other  kingdoms  where  Urban  was  acknowledged,  came  together  in 
Rome,  and  large  oblations  were  presented  in  the  churches.  Some 
portion  was  used  for  the  reconstruction  of  ruined  church  edifices. 
But  the  major  part  came  into  the  hands  of  Boniface  and  many  others. 
Not   contented   with  this,  Boniface   sent4  letters  of  indulgence  and 

1  L.  2  de  schismate  c.  6  :  Ignoravit  gra-  fere  vernalis  facta  fait  in  curia  tempore  suo. 
i    pontificalia  officii,  et  adeo  suppli-        s  L.  2  c.  13:  In  temporalibus  mm  medi- 
cationes  sibi  propositas  indiscrete  signavit,  ocriter  fortunatus,  scd  in  Bpiritualibus  de- 
ar si  nunquam  fuiaset  in   Romana  curia  bills, 
eonstitutus,  nee  quae  petehantur  in  ipsis        a  L.  c.  c.  11. 

intellexit,  et  propositions  factas  coram  eo        4  Theodoric  of    Niem    says  of  him,  in 

per  advocatos  in  ejus  consistorio  to  to  tern-  this  connection  :  Erat  ertim  insatiabUis  vo- 

pore  sin  pontiricatus  non  intelligens  ad  pe-  rago  et  in  avaritia  uullus  ei  <imilis.    Lib.  1 

tita  nimis  confuse  respondit,  undo  inscitia  C.  68. 


52  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION'. 

preachers  of  indulgence  into  all  countries-.  These  agents  sold  the  indul- 
gence to  all  who  gave  the  same  sum  as  by  computation  the  journey  to 
Rome  would  have  cost  them.  Thus  the  sellers  of  indulgences  were 
enabled  to  bring  back  from  many  countries  more  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand florins  ;  and  inasmuch  as  they  bargained  off"  their  indulgences, 
which  to  the  people  appeared  the  same  as  forgiveness  of  sins,  without 
requiring  penitence,  they  laid  the  foundation  of  immense  mischief.1 
For  money  one  might  obtain  from  them,  by  virtue  of  the  power  to 
bind  and  loose,  which  they  claimed  for  themselves,  all  sorts  of  dispen- 
sation. Enriched,  they  returned  back  in  great  state  to  Rome.  Many 
of  them,  Boniface  caused  to  be  arrested,  on  the  charge  of  embezzle- 
ment. Theodoric  of  Niem  remarks,  that  several  of  these  people  came 
to  a  bad  end,  either  falling  victims  to  the  fury  of  the  people,  or  com- 
mitting suicide.  "  It  was  befitting  —  says  he  —  that  they  who  so  de- 
ceived the  christian  people,  when  they  were  only  serving  their  own 
cupidity,  should  perish  miserably.2  Simony  and  extortion  from  the 
churches  reached,  under  this  pope,  their  highest  pitch."  In  the  first 
seven  years  3  he  was  still  somewhat  restrained  from  respect  to  the  bet- 
ter disposed  among  the  cardinals,  and  pursued  the  traffic  more  clan- 
destinely. No  sooner,  however,  had  these  better  persons  died  than 
he  cast  off  all  further  shame.  With  a  view  to  cover  Simoriy  under 
some  show  of  law,  he  made  it  a  rule,  that  none  should  obtain  the 
more  important  ecclesiastical  offices,  without  first  advancing  a  sum  of 
money,  which,  by  the  estimate  of  the  Roman  chancery,  should  equal 
the  income  of  the  first  year,  the  so  called  annates.  But  now  the 
same  amount  was  required  even  for  the  expectancy  ;  and  thus  many 
paid  the  money,  who  never  came  into  actual  possession  of  the  office. 
All  sorts  of  usury  became  common  to  meet  the  expenses  of  such  a 
purchase.  Many  vagabond  monks  roved  idly  about  Rome,  seeking 
promotion,  which  by  bad  arts  might  easily  be  obtained  at  that  time  at 
the  Roman  court.  The  most  worthless  of  men  could  get  promoted  to 
the  highest  posts.  The  Bonifacian  plantation,  as  it  was  called,  a  phrase 
to  denote  the  most  corrupt  members  of  the  clergy,  became  a  by-word 
in  every  man's  mouth. 

Meantime  the  university  of  Paris  did  not  cease  to  carry  on  its 
work  according  to  the  principles,  which,  in  this  affair,  they  had  ex- 
pressed from  the  beginning ;  and  they  lent  all  their  energies  to  bring 
about  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church,  and  the  reformation  of 
its  abuses.  They  kept  an  incessant  and  attentive  watch  over  the 
conduct  of  the  two  popes.  But  the  political  relations  of  the  kingdom 
were  unfavorable  to  them  —  the  regency  during  the  minority  of  King 
Charles  VI.  of  France,  and  afterwards  his  mental  derangement.  Cle- 
ment found  in  Cardinal  Peter  cle  Luna  of  Arragon,  a  very  skilful  and 
able  negotiator,  by  whose  means  he  endeavored  to  form  a  party  among 
the  French  princes,  and  without  sticking  at  bribery,  to  set  influences 
at  work  against  the  university.     Finally,  the  latter  contrived  in  spite 

1  Theodoric  of    Niem    Ibid :  Quia  om-  num  populum  deceperint,  eorum  avaritiae 
nia  peccata  etiam  sine  poenitentia  ipsis  consulentes  male  perderentur. 
confitentibus  relaxaverant.  3  2,7. 

2  Justum  erat,  ut  hi,  qui  taliter  Christia- 


SCHISM   OF  THE    CHURCH.  53 

of  all  difficulties  to  carry  out  their  object ;  and  in  the  year  1394 
obtained  license  to  set  forth  publicly  before  the  king  their  opinion 
respecting  the  most  appropriate  method  of  restoring  tranquillity  to  the 
church.  From  their  own  number  was  chosen  a  distinguished  man,  to 
draw  up  the  judgment,  Nicholas  of  Clemangis,  so  named  from  his 
native  place,  Clamanges  in  Champagne,  belonging  to  the  diocese  of 
Chalons  sur  Marne.  He  was  educated  at  the  Paris  university,  be- 
came a  member  of  the  collegium  of  Navarre,  was  master  of  the  liberal 
arts,  then  Baccalaureus  of  Theology,  and  a  disciple  of  the  Chancellor 
Gerson.  He  was  even  more  distinguished  than  that  great  man  for 
enlarged  views  and  classical  culture.  In  his  theological  tendency  he 
was  not  cramped  and  confined  within  the  common  limits  of  the  univer- 
sity of  Paris,  as  we  shall  hereafter  perceive.  In  the  judgment  drawn 
up  by  his  pen  and  which  he  presented  to  the  king  at  the  head  of  a 
deputation  from  the  university,  we  recognize  his  own  spirit  and  style. 

There  were  three  methods,  among  which  the  university  left  freedom 
for  choice ;  that  both  popes  should,  for  the  good  of  the  church,  re- 
sign ;  that  they  should  submit  their  respective  claims  to  the  investi- 
gation of  chosen  and  approved  men ;  or  the  meeting  of  a  general  coun- 
cil.1 

This  council  should,  according  to  the  then  current  legal  form,  con- 
sist of  prelates  exclusively ;  or  else  inasmuch  as  these,  to  their  shame 
and  reproach,3  were  for  the  most  part  ignorant,  and  several  of  them 
too  partial3  to  one  or  the  other  side,  there  must  be  joined  with  the 
prelates,  in  equal  number,  masters  and  doctors  of  theology  and  of 
law  from  the  universities ;  or,  if  these  were  not  enough,  delegates 
should  be  added  from  the  cathedral  churches,  the  chapters,  and  the 
monastic  orders.  Next,  the  right  to  the  meeting  of  a  general  council 
is  defended  against  the  arguments'  alleged  to  the  contrary  by  the 
advocates  of  the  old  church  doctrine.  Although  this  method  had 
been  objected  to  as  an  unsuitable  one,  by  some  flatterers  and  pro- 
moters of  this  monstrous  schism,  from  its  beginning  down  to  the  present 
time,  rather  to  nourish  the  disorder  than  to  act  according  to  the  judg- 
ment of  truth ;  yet  whoever  would  examine  into  the  matter  without 
prejudice,  must  see  that  this  method  was  by  no  means  so  objection- 
able. There  was,  indeed,  so  much  the  more  need  of  a  general  coun- 
cil, at  a  time  when  discipline,  manners,  and  good  order  had,  by  the 
operation  of  this  mischief-bringing  schism,  sunk  to  the  lowest  ebb,  and 
so  many  abuses  had  crept  abroad,  that  if  the  church  were  not  soon 
helped,  she  must  be  plunged  in  irremediable  ruin.  "  Too  late  —  he 
exclaims,  addressing  the  popes,  —  will  it  repent  you  to  have  looked 
about  after  no  remedies.  If  now,  when  it  stands  in  your  power, 
you  do  not  see  the  near-impending  dangers,  who  do  you  suppose  will 
still  be  willing  to  endure  such  government  of  the  church  ?  Who  to 
bear  these  extortions  and  wrongs  of  the  church  —  who,  these  cheap 

1  The  via  cessionis,  compromissi     aut        *  Quia  plures  eorum  proh  pudor !  hodie 
coucilii  generalis.    The  judgment  iu  Bulae.    satis  illiterati  sunt.  Pag.  690. 
l.  1.  fag.  687  sq.  3  Pluresque  ad  alterutram  partem  inor- 

dinate affecti. 

5* 


54  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

promotions  of  all  the  worthless  and  the  most  ignorant  to  all  the  highest 
dignities  ?  You  deceive  yourselves,  assuredly  you  deceive  yourselves, 
if  you  suppose  that  this  will  long  be  tolerated  in  you.  If  men  will  not 
see  it,  or  seeing  it,  will  be  silent,  the  very  stones  shall  cry  out  against 
you." 

To  the  question,  whence  comes  the  authority  of  a  council,  he  an- 
swers, —  "  The  consent  and  agreement  of  all  the  faithful  will  confer 
it,  Christ  in  the  gospel  confers  it,  when  he  says,  "  Where  two  or  three 
are  gathered  in  my  name,  I  am  in  the  midst  of  them." 

After  a  full  explanation  of  the  above-mentioned  three  methods  for 
the  restoration  of  unity,  it  is  declared :  Whichever  of  the  two  popes 
refuses  to  adopt  one  of  these  three  methods,  or  to  propose  some  other, 
is  to  be  regarded  as  an  obstinate  schismatic,  and  therefore  a  heretic. 
He  is  no  shepherd  of  the  church,  but  a  tyrant,  and  must  no  longer  be 
obeyed. 

The  king  is  most  earnestly  called  upon  to  do  all  in  his  power  for 
the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church ;  to  make  all  secular  affairs  give 
way  to  this.  To  this  end,  the  evils  that  had  resulted  from  the  schism 
are  minutely  portrayed.  In  connection  with  this,  to  be  sure,  we  find 
it  erroneously  assumed,  —  for  it  is  an  error  according  to  the  history 
as  we  have  presented  it  —  that  the  church  down  to  the  time  of  this 
schism  had  been  in  a  flourishing  condition.  But  this  statement  is 
somewhat  modified ;  for  the  existing  evils  are  not  imputed  directly  and 
solely  to  the  schism  itself,  but  in  part  also  to  the  preceding  state  of 
things  ;  so  that  a  time  of  corruption  may  accordingly  be  marked,  which 
existed  previous  to  the  schism.1  Worthless  and  wicked  men  had 
been  promoted  to  the  government  of  the  church,  and  were  still  pro- 
moted to  the  same  ;  men  to  whom  nothing  was  sacred  ;  by  whose  dis- 
graceful acts  and  in  ministration  to  whose  pleasures,  the  churches 
were  drained,  the  monasteries  plundered.  The  priests  were  seen 
begging,  or  they  were  employed  on  the  most  menial  and  degrading 
services.  The  church  utensils  of  gold  and  silver  were  in  many  places 
sold  to  eke  out  those  extortions.  How  many  churches  had  been 
brought  to  ruin !  He  complains  of  the  simony  which  had  occasioned 
the  worst  appointments  to  spiritual  offices.  It  was  not  the  learned 
who  received  promotion  ;  but  the  more  learned  men  were,  the  more 
were  they  detested,  because  by  such  simony  was  more  boldly  castigat- 
ed than  by  others.  As  the  most  wicked  abuse  of  all,  to  describe 
which  language  scarcely  strong  enough  could  be  found,  he  signalizes 
the  abuse  in  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  especially  of  ordina- 
tion and  of  penance.2  Nothing  was  to  be  said  about  the  curtailment 
of  the  liberties  of  the  church,  and  the  loss  of  its  goods,  for  they  were 
only  temporals ;  although,  in  these  times,  temporals  were  regarded  as 
of  the  greater  importance.3 

1  Quid  ante  hoc  schisma  schismatisque  omnium  injustas  collationes  et  praecipue 
praeambula  ecclesia  florentius  ?  Pag.  693.  ordinum  ac  poenitentiae  turpi  detestabili- 

2  Et  quod   iniquissimum  est,  nee   satis  que  quaestu  vendit.     Pag.  694. 
exaggerari   verbis  potest,  haec  est,  quae        3  Quamquam  majora  isti  haec  tempora- 
damnatissima  corruptela  sacramentorum  liajudicant. 


OPINION   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   PARIS   ON   THE   SCHISM.         55 

The  university  next  defended  itself  against  the  reproach  that  it 
chose  to  inveigh  against  the  pope,  (for  whose  honor  the  university 
should  be  more  zealous  than  all  others),  from  its  ambition  to  govern 
all  things,  especially  in  the  church,  according  to  its  will.  They  who 
cast  upon  the  university  this  reproach  —  it  was  said  —  were  endeavor- 
ing to  maintain  the  schism  in  the  church,  for  their  own  emolument ; 
for,  in  any  well-ordered  condition  of  the  church,  they  would  find  it 
impossible  to  secure  so  many  and  fat  benefices.1  It  is  true,  said  the 
university,  they  do  not  want  to  govern  the  church ;  they  prefer  to  let 
themselves  be  governed  ;  but  they  do  want  on  the  other  hand  to 
practise  extortions,  to  destroy  and  rend  the  churches.  And  because, 
constrained  by  our  own  conscience  and  the  truth,  we  cannot  remain 
silent  at  this,  because  we  are  neither  willing  nor  able  to  bear  it  with 
equanimity,  it  is  for  this  reason  that  they,  in  so  great  danger  of  the 
church,  have  fabricated  such  charges  against  us.  Does  it  become  us 
to  keep  silence,  where  the  very  stones  ought  to  cry  out  ? 

When  the  university  presented  this  writing,  they  received  at  first 
an  evasive  answer.  But  when  they  pressed  for  a  more  decided  de- 
claration, they  received  for  answer,  It  was  the  king's  pleasure  that 
they  should  neither  treat  nor  consider  this  matter  any  farther,  that 
they  should  not  receive  nor  open  any  letters  relating  to  it,  until  they 
had  first  been  shown  to  the  king.  Upon  this  the  university  carried 
into  effect  the  resolution  previously  passed,  that  sermons  and  lectures 
should  be  suspended  by  all  their  members  until  satisfaction  was  given 
to  their  demands.2  Next,  the  university  addressed  to  the  pope  a 
very  frank  and  bold  letter,  in  which  they  strongly  protested  against 
the  intriguing  conduct  of  the  Cardinal  Peter  de  Luna,  without  men- 
tioning his  name,  and  urgently  besought  him  to  do  all  in  his  power,  to 
put  a  speedy  end  to  the  schism ;  so  that  this  schism  —  which  God 
avert  —  might  not  become  an  everlasting  one,  for  the  thing  had  al- 
ready come  to  that  pass,  that  men  were  heard  openly  to  say,  it  made 
no  sort  of  difference  how  many  popes  there  were.  There  might  be 
not  two  or  three  only,  but  even  twelve.  Each  realm  might  have  its 
own  ecclesiastical  superior  ;  and  each  of  these  might  be  independent 
of  the  others.3 

It  is  clear  from  this,  how  the  being  accustomed  to  have  no  general- 
ly acknowledged  pope,  had  already  had  the  effect  of  leading  men  to 
think,  that  perhaps  one  universal  visible  head  of  the  church  was  a 
thing  not  necessary.  The  pope,  it  is  said,  manifested  great  indigna- 
tion in  reading  this  letter  —  calling  it,  as  was  reported  to  the  univer- 
sity, a  malignant  and  venomous  letter.4  The  university  thereupon 
issued  a  second  letter  to  the  pope,  vindicating  itself  from  this  re- 
proach, and  showing  that  they  had   acted  out  of  pure  zeal  for  the 

1  Magnas  quippe  dignitates  et  crassa  quot  Papae  sint,  et  non  solummodo.duo 
bencticia  in  hac  turbata  ecclesia  assequun-  aut  tres,  sed  decern  aut  duodecim,  imo  et 
tur,  quas  integra  ac  unita  se  nunquam  adi-  singulis  regnis  singulos  praefici  posse,  nul- 
pisci  posse  ct  merito  conriderent.  Pag.  695.  la  sibi  inviccm  potestatis  aut  jorisdictionis 

2  Bulaeus,  1.  c.  pag.  696.  auctoritatc  praelatos.     L.  1.  j>ag.  Too. 

3  Ut  plerumque  passim  et  publice  non  4  Malae  sunt  et  venenosae.  L.  1.  pag. 
vereantur  dicere,  Nihil  omnino  curandum,  701. 


56  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

welfare  of  the  church,  still  expressing  themselves,  however,  with  great 
freedom.  But  Clement  was  already  dead.  Now,  if  it  had  been  pos- 
sible at  this  juncture  to  prevent  a  new  papal  election,  on  this  side,  the 
removal  of  the  schism  would  thereby  have  been  greatly  facilitated. 
The  university  of  Paris  endeavored  to  bring  this  about  by  letters  and 
delegates  sent  to  the  king,  and  directly  afterwards  to  the  college  of 
cardinals  :  but  they  could  effect  nothing.  The  cardinals  at  Avignon 
only  made  more  haste  to  complete  their  election,  so  as  to  frustrate 
this  design.  They  thought  themselves  bound  to  maintain  their  rights 
against  the  other  party.  Yet  before  proceeding  to  the  election,  they 
pledged  themselves1  to  use  every  effort  to  bring  about  the  restoration 
of  peace  to  the  church,  and  agreed  that  whichever  one  of  them  should 
be  chosen  pope,  he  would  not  hesitate,  if  it  should  be  necessary  to 
effect  that  end,  to  resign  his  dignity.  The  already  named  Cardinal 
Peter  de  Luna  of  Arragon,  a  man  far  superior  to  his  predecessors,  at 
least  in  clerical  dignity,  plausible  manners,  and  the  art  of  managing 
men,  was  chosen  pope.  He  called  himself  Benedict  XIII.  He  had 
been,  earlier,  professor  of  the  canon  law  at  Montpellier,  and  had  en- 
joyed a  good  reputation.2  Gregory  XI.  made  him  cardinal.3  He 
had,  thus  far,  as  Theodoric  of  Niem  says,  manifested  great  zeal  for 
the  restoration  of  the  unity  of  the  church.  When  employed  by  Pope 
Clement  on  embassies,  he  had  found  fault,  because  the  pope  did  no- 
thing for  the  restoration  of  concord  to  the  church.  But  his  adminis- 
tration of  the  papacy  did  not  answer  the  expectations  which  his  pre- 
vious conduct  may  have  inspired.  He  utterly  ignored  the  pledge, 
which  he  had  given  before  he  assumed  the  papal  dignity.  He  did 
not  recognize  the  form  of  that  oath,  when  sent  to  him,  as  genuine,  and 
asserted  that  a  pope  could  not  be  bound.4 

In  the  year  1401,5  Nicholas  of  Clemangis  composed  his  remarkable 
book  on  the  corruptions  of  the  Church,  in  which  he  sets  forth  these 
corruptions,  affecting  all  portions  of  the  church,  in  the  darkest  col- 
ors, and  yet  most  assuredly  in  accordance  with  the  truth.  He  too, 
not  only  considers  the  schism  as  a  consequence  of  the  corruptions  in 
the  church,  but  also  as  a  means  designed  to  bring  men  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  them.  "Who  does  not  know  —  says  he  —  that  this 
frightful  pest  of  schism  was  first  introduced  into  the  church  by  the 

1  The  form  is  to  be  found  in  Bulae.  1.  c.  copiam,  quam  confictam  esse  constanter 
f.  730.  asserimus,   tibi    remittimus.     It   bids    the 

2  Theodoric  of  Niem  writes  concerning  cardinals  pag.  731,  ne  in  dicta  schedula 
him,  from  an  acquaintance  with  him  fchir-  vos  subscribatis,  nee  etiam  consentiatis 
ty-six  years  before  at  Montpellier :  Homo  aliqualiter  aliis,  quae  non  licent  seu  non 
ingeniosus  et  ad  inveniendum  res  novas  decent,  seu  ex  quibus  occasio  forte  posset 
valde  subtilis.     Cf  1.  2,  c.  33.  deprehendi,  quod  contra  reverentiam,  obe- 

4  Theodoric  of  Niem  says  of  him  :    Qui  dientiam  aut  honorem  nobis  et  ecclesiae 

tunc  satis    dilegebatur  a  multis,  eo  quod  Romanae  per  vos   debitas,  seu  laudabiles 

peritus  et  virtuosus   existeret,  a  pluribus  mores   inter   nos    et  vos,   pracdecessores 

laudabatur.  nostras  et  vestros  observari  consuetos  ali- 

4  Da  Boulay,  p.  729,  cites  the  letter  of  qua  fierent. 
the  pope  to  the  king  of  France:  Respon-        6  As  he  himself  says  in  the  book  de  rui- 

demus,  quod  qui  tibi  vel  aliis  ista  scripse-  na  ecclesiae  c.  16,  —  H.  v.  d.  Hardt  torn.  I, 

runt,  vel    quomodolibet  retulerunt,  minus  pars  III.  pag.  18,  when   the    division    had 

veridice  id  egerunt,  et  propterea  dictam  already  lasted  nearly  twenty-three  years. 


CLEMANGIS   DE    RTJINA    ECCLESLE.  57 

wickedness  of  the  cardinals,  that  by  them  it  has  been  promoted,  pro- 
pagated, and  enabled  to  strike  its  roots  so  deep."1  "  If —  says  he  —  all 
kingdoms  however  mighty,  great  and  exalted,  have  been  prostrated 
to  the  dust  by  injustice  and  pride,  how  knowest  thou  —  so  he  addresses 
the  church  —  when  thou-  hast  cast  far  from  thee  the  firm  rock  of  hu- 
mility thou  wast  founded  on,  and  which  feared  no  storm  of  invasion, 
and  hast  lifted  thy  horn  on  high,  that  such  a  fabric  of  pride,  erected 
by  thyself,  will  not  be  overthrown  ?  Already  has  thy  pride,  which 
could  not  sustain  itself,  begun  slowly  and  gradually  to  fall,  and  on 
this  account  its  fall  was  not  perceived  by  the  majority.  But  now  thou 
art  wholly  plunged  in  the  gulf,  and  especially  since  the  breaking  out 
of  this  abominable  schism.  Most  surely  has  the  divine  anger  permit- 
ted this  to  come  upon  thee  as  a  check  to  thy  intolerable  wickedness, 
that  thy  domination  so  displeasing  to  God,  so  odious  to  the  nations, 
may,  by  being  divided  within  itself,  come  to  nought."  Not  that  the 
true  faith  would  run  any  hazard  in  this  conflict  of  contending  churches 
in  the  world ;  this  being  founded  upon  the  firm  rock  would  remain 
unshaken  ;  but  it  was  otherwise  with  all  that  temporal  power, 
glory  and  pleasure  wherewith  the  church  was  overladen  even  to  loath- 
ing and  the  forgetfulness  of  herself.2  As  the  cessation  of  the  syna- 
gogue followed  close  upon  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  so  the  fall  of 
Rome  as  seat  and  head  of  the  church,  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  de- 
struction of  the  church  herself  and  her  dominion  might  be  near  at 
hand.  For  how  could  she  long  subsist,  who,  deprived  of  her  original 
seat  and  head,  was  obliged  to  roam  about  fugitive  and  inconstant, 
and  like  a  stranger  in  the  world  wander  from  one  place  to  another. 
She  must  have  foreseen  her  impending  fall,  since  the  time  that,  detest- 
ed for  her  fornication,  she  fled  from  Rome  to  Avignon  ;  where  in  pro- 
portion to  her  greater  freedom,  she  more  openly  and  shamelessly  ex- 
posed to  view  the  ways  of  her  simony  and  profanation,  bringing  foreign 
and  perverted  manners,  the  source  of  infinite  mischief,  into  France. 
Where  good  manners  and  severe  discipline  once  reigned,  immoderate 
luxury  had,  by  her  means,  now  begun  to  spread.  Holding  up  the 
synagogue  as  an  antetype  of  the  church,  he  bids  the  latter  take  warn- 
ing by  the  fate  of  the  former.  Then  he  addresses  the  church : 
"Awake,  for  once,  from  thy  long  sleep,  0  wretched  sister  of  the  syna- 
gogue !  Awake,  I  say,  at  last,  for  once  ;  and  set  a  limit  to  thy  intox- 
ication, which  it  might  take  thee  long  enough,  so  to  speak,  to  sleep  out ! 
If  one  spark  of  a  sound  understanding  still  remains  in  thee,  search 
diligently  into  the  writings  of  the  prophets,  and  know  from  them,  that 
the  hour  of  thy  shame  is  no  longer  at  a  distance,  but  close  by.  Thou 
wilt  see  what  an  end  awaits  thee ;  and  how  evil  and  dangerous  it  is 
for  thee  to  lie  long  in  this  filth."3  He  describes4  into  what  ignominious 
dependance  on  the  French  court,  Clement  VII.  had  cast  himself;  how 
he  was  compelled  to  sacrifice  the  good  of  the  church  to  the  interests 
of  the  French  princes.     He  speaks  of  the  scandalous  bargaining  away 

1  C.  16.  ct  oblivionem  sui  ipsa  ccclcsia  obruta  est. 

2  Loquor  de    tcmporali  potcntatu,   <le     Cap.  42. 

gloria  et  delieiis,  quibus  usque  ad  nauseajn        3  Cap.  41.  4  Cap.  42. 


58  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

of  benefices.  "What  poorer  creature  —  says  he  —  was  there  than 
our  Clement  as  long  as  he  lived,  who  had  so  debased  himself  to  the 
condition  of  a  servant  of  servants  to  the  princes  of  France,  that  such 
threats  and  scornful  language  were  daily  heaped  upon  him  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  court,  as  ought  not  to  be  borne  by  the  most  miserable  slave ! 
He  gave  way  to  their  rage,  he  gave  way  to  the  time,  he  gave  way  to 
clamorous  demands.  He  used  falsehoods,  disguises ;  gave  splendid 
promises  ;  put  off  with  fair  hopes  from  one  day  to  another.  To  some 
he  gave  benefices,  others  he  held  at  bay  with  words.  All  who  by  the 
art  of  flattery  or  of  playing  the  buffoon,  had  made  themselves  agree- 
able to  the  court,  he  took  every  pains  to  please,  and  to  secure  their  favor 
by  benefices,  in  order  that  by  the  good  offices  of  such  he  might  make 
sure  of  the  favor  of  their  master."  On  the  handsome  and  well- 
dressed  young  men,  in  whose  companionship  he  most  delighted,  he 
had  bestowed  nearly  all  the  vacant  bishoprics  and  other  most  honor- 
able posts.  The  more  easily  to  secure  and  preserve  the  goodwill  of  the 
princes,  he  had  himself 'and  without  solicitation  sent  them  presents, 
allowed  them  to  practise  any  extortions  they  chose  on  the  clergy, 
nay  even  invited  them  to  do  so  at  their  pleasure.  In  this  most  deplor- 
able servitude,  which  could  not  be  called  a  government  of  the  church, 
he  had  spent  more  than  fifteen  years,  inflicting  an  injury  on  the  church, 
surpassing  all  belief. 

He  goes  through  the  several  orders  and  offices  of  the  church  for  the 
purpose  of  pointing  out  the  corruption  in  them  all.  He  describes ] 
the  worldly  pride  and  state  of  the  cardinals,  who  when  they  had  been 
raised  from  the  lowest  rank  and  from  the  humblest  offices  to  that 
highest  dignity,  as  for  example,  from  the  condition  of  grave-diggers, 
wholly  forgot  what  they  once  were,  and  looked  down  upon  all  the  other 
spiritual  offices  of  the  church  with  disdain.  He  reproached  them  with 
their  luxurious  habits  of  living  ; 2  accused  them  of  grasping  at  all  the 
benefices,  of  practising  simony.  He  speaks  3  of  the  bad  appointments 
to  benefices  proceeding  from  the  Roman  chancery,  which  had  usurped 
everything  to  itself.  Not  from  studious  pursuits  and  the  school  alone, 
but  from  the  plough,  and  from  menial  employments,  individuals  were 
here  and  there  called  to  the  guidance  of  parishes  and  to  the  other  be- 
nefices ;  men  who  understood  little  more  of  Latin  than  they  did  of  the 
Arabic  language  ;  nay,  men  who  could  not  even  read,  and  shame  to 
say,  hardly  knew  the  alphabet.  But  may  they  not  perhaps  have  made 
amends  for  this  ignorance  by  the  excellence  of  their  manners  ?  Not 
in  the  least.  Brought  up  without  learning  in  idleness,  they  busied 
themselves  only  with  looking  out  for  their  pleasures,  feasting  and  sport- 
ing. Hence  in  all  places,  so  many  bad,  wretched,  ignorant  priests, 
whose  scandalous  lives  made  them  both  offensive  and  sources  of 
corruption  to  the  communities.  Hence  the  expressions  of  contempt 
for  priests  on  the  lips  of  all  the  people.  While  it  was  formerly  the 
case,    that  with    people    of   the  world    the    priesthood    stood  in  the 

1  Cap.  13.  3  Cap.  7. 

2  Immensa  et  inexcusabilis  vorago  con- 
cupiscentiae. 


CLEMANGIS   DE   RUINA   ECCLESLE.  59 

highest  honor,  and  nothing  was  considered  more  worthy  of  respect 
than  this  order,  now  nothing  was  considered  more  deserving  of  con- 
tempt. Hs  complains  1  that  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  and  every 
man  who  engaged  in  that  study,  were  ridiculed  ;  and  especially  — 
which  was  mo^t  to  be  wondered  at — by  the  bishops,  who  looked 
upon  their  own  decrees  as  of  vastly  more  importance  than  the  divine 
precepts.  That  glorious  office  of  preaching,  the  fairest  of 
all  offices,  and  which  once  belonged  solely  to  the  pastors,  had  sunk 
among  them  to  so  low  esteem,  that  there  was  nothing  they  held  to  be 
more  worthless,  or  less  becoming  their  dignity.  He  points  out 9  the 
mendicants  as  being  almost  the  only  persons  that  occupied  themselves 
with  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  that  supplied  the  office  of  preaching, 
who  alone,  as  they  affirmed,  administered  the  functions  of  all  the  church 
offices  which  were  neglected  by  all  others,  alone  represented  that  which 
by  the  vices,  the  ignorance  and  remissness  of  all  the  rest  had  fallen 
into  desuetude.  But  next  he  attacks  these  also,  representing  them  as 
the  genuine  successors  of  the  Pharisees  described  in  the  gospels,  who, 
under  their  show  of  holiness,  concealed  all  manner  of  wickedness. 
They  were  ravening  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  who  put  on  for  out- 
side show,  severity  of  life,  chastity,  humility,  holy  simplicity,  but  in 
secret  abandoned  themselves  to  the  choicest  pleasures,  to  a  dainty  variety 
of  luxurious  enjoyments.  He  acknowledges  3  that  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  bad  members  of  the  church  there  was  doubtless  also 
a  good  seed  ;  since  Christ  had  promised  of  the  church  at  large,  that 
her  faith  should  not  become  utterly  extinct ;  but  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  that  were  bad,  the  small  number  of  the  good  vanished  to  a  point. 
The  proportion  was  scarcely  one  to  a  thousand.  And  whenever  an 
individual  in  a  community  distinguished  himself  by  his  pious  living,  he 
was  made  a  butt  of  ridicule  for  the  rest,  was  pointed  out  as  a  proud 
man,  a  singular  fellow,  an  insane  person  or  a  hypocrite  ;  hence  num- 
bers from  whom  some  good  might  come,  had  they  been  associated  with 
the  good,  were  in  the  society  of  the  bad  swept  along  into  wickedness. 
Clemangis  saw  more  profoundly  than  others  into  the  corruptions  of 
the  church,  and  its  causes  ;  and  hence  he  placed  but  little  confidence  in 
the  means  employed  for  its  removal.  He  was  penetrated  with  a  tho- 
rough conviction  that  the  thing  needed  here  was  a  deep-going  process 
of  purification,  to  be  accomplished  only  by  the  wisdom  and  almighty 
power  of  God  ;  and  he  saw  that  the  evils  which  men  vainly  sought  to 
heal  by  higher  remedies,  must  in  spite  of  all  human  expedients  contin- 
ually go  on  increasing  to  their  fullest  measure  before  that  help  could 
come  from  God.  "  Because  —  says  he  —  the  church,  though  torn  and 
rent  by  so  many  calamities,  refused  to  humble  herself,  she  justly  there- 
fore must  first  be  humbled  by  Him,  who  humbles  whatever  exalteth 
itself,  and  exalts  the  lowly,  to  the  end  that  she  may  return  back  to 
the  state  of  grace  from  which  she  has  fallen.  She  must  first  be  still 
more  afflicted,  still  more  smitten  ;  not  till  then  can  she  be  healed."4 
"For  —  says  he  —  as  regards  the  restoration  of  the  church,  rent 
asunder  by  this  unhappy  schism,  it  is  vain  to  hope  that   any  thing  of 

1  Cap.  19.  »  Cap.  33.  'Cap.  39,  40.  '  Cap.  48 


60  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

this  sort  will  be  brought  about  by  us.  This  can  never  be  accomplish- 
ed by  man's  work,  never  by  any  human  art  wbatsoever.  This  thing 
requires  of  a  certainty  another  hand.  And  if  ever  a  union  of  the 
church  shall  take  place,  the  physician  that  effects  it  must  be  He  who 
gave  the  wound ;  for  the  wound  is  so  grave  and  incurable  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  healing  by  any  other  pains.  A  great  deal  has  been  clone 
on  this  subject,  a  great  deal  written  ;  a  great  deal  said ;  many  embas- 
sies have  been  undertaken  on  account  of  it.  But  the  more  we  have 
met  and  deliberated  and  proposed,  the  more  complicated  and  obscure 
the  matter  has  grown  ;  for  God  mocks  our  pains,  because  we  fancy 
ourselves  able  by  our  own  prudence  and  skill,  without  his  help,  to  ac- 
complish what  is  his  work  alone.  Add  to  this,  that  we  are  unworthy 
of  receiving  peace  from  him  and  of  having  peace  ;  for  God  the  Lord 
has  said,  "  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked."  He  looks  forward  in 
expectation  of  a  persecution  of  the  church,  sent  as  a  divine  judgment, 
and  growing  out  of  the  schism.  By  this  persecution  coming  from  the 
secular  power,  the  church  would  be  deprived  of  the  rights  and  posses- 
sions not  her  own  which  she  had  brought  within  her  grasp,  and  re- 
duced back  to  poverty.  "This  persecution  —  says  he — will  come 
upon  us  sooner  perhaps  than  many  are  aware.  We  might  see  the 
foundation  already  laid  for  it  in  various  ways,  were  we  not  so.  blinded  ; 
and  any  man  possessed  of  his  senses,  may  certainly  see  how  this  per- 
secution threatens  to  break  out  more  and  more  every  day."  Scan- 
ning with  a  prophetic  eye  the  remote  future  as  if  it  were  near  at  hand, 
Clemangis  predicts  such  a  process  of  purification  and  such  a  revolution 
of  the  church,  as  subsequently  proceeded  from  the  Reformation. 
"  What  methods  —  he  concludes  —  still  remain  in  thy  hands,  0  Christ, 
if  thou  wilt  purify  thy  church  from  such  dross  as_  that  into  which  its 
gold  and  silver  have  been  converted?  what  other  method,  than  that 
thou  wilt  finally  purge  away  from  the  refining  even  this  dross  itself, 
"which  can  by  no  refining  fire  be  again  transmuted  into  gold  and  silver, 
and  prepare  in  it  a  new  metal  of  untarnished  purity  ?  " 

In  order  clearly  to  understand  how  this  distinguished  man  judges 
concerning  the  corruption  of  the  church  of  his  time,  and  concerning 
the  means  requisite  for  its  cure,  we  should  compare  with  this  book  a 
treatise  which  he  addressed  to  a  friend  of  his,  who  was  candidate  for 
a  theological  degree,  and  proposed  to  hold  lectures  on  the  /Sentences 
at  some  university.  This  was  his  treatise  on  the  Study  of  Theology? 
He  represents  the  chief  end  of  theological  study  to  be  education  for 
the  office  of  preaching.  In  the  neglect  of  this,  he  finds  the  principal 
cause  of  the  corruption  of  the  church.  In  the  exercise  of  this  office, 
we  ought  chiefly  to  imitate  Christ ;  for  his  whole  activity  had  consisted 
in  teaching.  "For  sometimes — says  he  —  Christ  taught  his  disci- 
ples, sometimes  the  multitude,  sometimes  the  Pharisees ;  occasionally 
he  taught  in  the  synagogue,  often  in  the  temple,  sometimes  on  the  land, 
sometimes  on  the  water,  sometimes  on  mountains,  sometimes  on  the 
plains ;  oftentimes  he  taught  many  together ;  then  again,  individuals. 

1  De  studio  thcologico  in  d'Achery's  Spicilegium,  vol.  I,  p.  473  sq. 


CLEMANGIS    DE    STUDIO    THEOLOGICO.  61 

Who  should  not  say,  then,  that  the  best  method  is  the  one  which  Christ, 
the  perfect  pattern  of  all  that  is  good,  practised  unceasingly  while  liv- 
ing in  the  flesh  ?  But  what  is  meant  by  being  a  teacher  ?  What  else 
than  this  ;  with  the  right  art,  with  experience,  and  zeal  for  the  cure  of 
souls,  to  teach  others  ?  For  it  is  not  the  square  cap,  not  the  higher 
pulpit  that  makes  the  doctor."  To  the  theologian  or  to  the  preacher 
—  says  he  —  for  I  look  upon  both  as  one  and  the  same  —  it  belongs,  in 
particular,  to  live  uprightly  according  to  the  will  of  God,  that  in  the 
practice  of  this  commandment,  and  in  all  life  and  conversation,  he 
may  furnish  a  pattern  to  all."  He  accordingly  regards  the  practical 
element  as  the  end  and  aim  of  theological  study,  and  disputes  a  theo- 
logian of  some  eminence,  who  had  asserted  that  to  teach  and  dispute 
at  the  University,  was  something  of  higher  note  than  to  preach. 
"  Since  —  says  he  —  the  end  of  theological  study  is  to  instruct  in  the 
right  manner  one's  self  and  others  in  that  which  pertains  to  eternal 
life,  so  we  may  see  which  we  should  consider  as  most  profitable  and 
salutary,  whether  actively  to  discharge  the  predicatorial  office  in  zeal 
for  the  salvation  of  souls,  or  after  one  has  obtained  the  academical  de- 
gree, to  remain  always  at  the  University,  teaching  and  disputing. 
What  purpose  —  says  he  —  is  all  this  to  serve  ?  Certainly  this  pur- 
pose ;  to  form  others  that  they  may  be  capable  of  leading  the  rest  to 
salvation.  Now  if  the  means  must  correspond  to  the  end,  is  it  not 
better,  by  one's  own  preaching  to  lead  others  to  salvation,  than  to  edu- 
cate such  as  are  destined  thus  to  operate  on  others,  but  will  perhaps 
never  do  so  ?*  Who  must  not  see  —  he  says  —  that  it  is  better  to  ban- 
ish errors  out  of  the  hearts  of  men,  than  out  of  books  ?  In  many  things, 
the  people  at  the  present  time  stand  at  a  very  great  distance  in  their 
ways  of  thinking  from  that  which  the  true  faith  requires.  They  use 
magical  arts  ;  they  are  closely  wrapt  in  various  superstitions  ;  they 
seek  advice  from  fortune-tellers  ;  they  are  in  error  as  to  the  majority 
of  the  articles  of  faith.  If  there  is  much  acute  disputation  against 
all  this  in  the  schools,  of  what  avail  is  it  to  those,  who,  remote 
from  such  places,  hear  nothing  of  all  this,  those  whom  no  theologians 
ever  come  to  instruct  ?  Is  not  the  physician  who,  after  having  learn- 
ed the  art,  visits  and  heals  the  sick,  more  useful  than  he  who  never 
exercises  the  art,  but  only  disputes  in  the  schools  ?"  2  The  cause, 
however,  of  the  neglect  of  preaching,  and  the  cause  of  the  bad 
preaching  in  his  own  time,  he  finds  in  the  false  treatment  of  theo- 
logy, as  merely  a  matter  of  the  understanding  and  not  a  matter  of  the 
heart ;  in  the  dislike  of  the  study  of  the  bible,  in  the  one-sided  scholas- 
tic tendency,  in  .the  fact  that  such  a  theology  was  pursued  as  could 
neither  fill  the  heart  with  zeal  for  the  preacher's  office,  nor  render  one 
qualified  for  its  performance.  He  says  —  "  We  see  most  school-the- 
ologians at  the  present  time  attributing  so  little  weight  to  proofs  drawn 
from  the  scriptures,  that  they  deride  a  proof  grounded  on  such  autho- 
rity, as  indicating  a  sluggish  intellect,  or  want  of  acuteness ;  as  if  that 
were  of  more  weight,  which  is  excogitated  by  human  invention,  than 

1  Pag.  478.  *  Pag.  479. 

VOL.  V.  6 


62  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

what  God  had  revealed  from  heaven.  After  citing  the  words  in  2  Tim. 
3 :  16,  he  says  "  Of  little  profit  to  that  end,  are  the.  things  in  which 
the  majority  exercise  themselves  at  the  present  day  ;  things  which  may 
indeed  in  some  way  or  other  serve  to  sharpen  the  intellect,  but  can 
neither  warm  the  heart,  kindle  emotion  in  the  soul,  nor  supply  it  with 
any  nourishment,  but  leave  it  cold,  hard  and  withered."1  Hence  it  is, 
that  they  are  so  indolent  in  discharging  the  preacher's  office.  They 
have  never  learned  the  science  which  ministers  thereto.  This  is  the 
true  knowledge  after  which  every  theologian  should  strive,  knowledge 
which  not  only  informs  the  understanding,  but  at  the  same  time  takes 
hold  on  the  affections."2  He  compares  the  theology  of  his  time  to  the 
apples  of  Sodom,  which,  seen  from  without,  appeared  fair,  but  within 
were  only  dust  and  ashes.  Accordingly  such  a  theology  could  never 
still  the  cravings  of  the  spirit,  however  acute  and  ingenious  it  might 
appear.  He  calls  upon  his  friend,  to  study  in  particular  the  church 
fathers ;  but  to  regard  these  as  only  the  rivulets,  leading  back  to  the 
fountain-head  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves.  He  already  lays 
down  the  principle,  that  in  matters  of  religion,  nothing  should  be  as- 
serted which  could  not  be  proved  out  of  the  sacred  scriptures,  where, 
by  rightly  searching,  one  would  find  everything  necessary  to  be  known 
in  order  to  salvation.3 

The  predictions  uttered  by  Clemangis,  in  his  book  De  ruina  eccle- 
siae,  about  the  fruitless  character  of  the  means  by  which  it  was  at- 
tempted to  do  away  the  schism,  were  more  and  more  verified  every 
day.  The  university  of  Paris  issued  a  letter  to  Pope  Benedict  soon 
after  his  accession  to  office,  calling  upon  him  in  the  most  pressing 
manner  to  set  forward  the  cause  of  the  union  without  any  procrastina- 
tion. He  ought  not  to  delay  even  for  a  moment.  If  he  waited  but 
a  day,  another  would  soon  be  added,  and  so  the  whole  thing  would 
pass  into  forgetfulness.  Flatterers  would  come  :  men  who,  under  the 
guise  of  friendship,  instilled  the  deadliest  poison.  Men,  ambitious  for 
dignities  ;  eager  aspirants  for  promotions  and  benefices ;  all  the 
courtiers  who  did  homage  to  the  power  of  the  moment :  and  if  to  such 
he  opened  his  ears,  they  would  be  ever  drawing  him  farther  and 
farther  from  this  matter.  United  with  all  this  would  be  the  sweet 
custom  of  honor,  best  fitted  of  all  things  to  entice  and  deceive  him,  as 
it  had  done  with  many,  especially  in  these  times.  He  had  the  latest 
example  of  this  in  his  predecessor,  who  had  by  it  alone  been  led  to 
adhere  so  obstinately  to  the  opinion  he  had  once  adopted.  But  if 
Benedict  should  advert  to  the  fact,  that  all  did  not  depend  on  him, 
that  there  was  something  incumbent  also  on  the  other  pope,  it  was  main- 

1  Ad  quae  ilia  sunt  parum  utilia,  in  qui-     at,  sed  infundat  simul  atque  imbuat  affec- 
bus  hodie  plurimi  exercentur,  quae   licet     turn.  Ibid. 

intellectum  utcumque  acuant,  nullo  tamen  3  Quoniam  in  his  quae  divinasunt,  nihil 

igne  succendunt   affectum,  nullo  motu  ex-  deberaus  temere  definire,  nisi  ex  coelesti- 

citant,  nullo  alimento   pascunt,   sed  frig-  bus  possit  oraculis  approbari :  quae  divini- 

idum,  torpentera,  aridura  relinquunt.  Pag.  tus  enuntiata  de  his,  quae  scitu  de  deosunt 

476.  necessaria,  aut  ad  salutem  opportuna,  si 

2  Ilia  est  vera  scientia,  quae  theologum  diligentur  investigarentur,  nos  sufficienter 
decet,  quamque  omnis  debet  theologus  ex-  instruunt.  Ibid. 

petere,  quae  uon  modo  intellectum  instru- 


THE  THREE  CHURCH  PARTIES.  63 

tained  on  the  other  hand,  that  without  the  least  doubt  everything 
depended  on  his  doing  his  own  duty  ;  and  the  other  might  be  left  to 
do  the  same,  or,  if  he  did  not  do  it,  he  must  inevitably  make  the 
wickedness  of  his  course  evident  to  all.  The  pope  returned  to  this 
letter  of  the  university,  an  answer  couched  in  the  most  general  terms, 
expressing  his  earnest  desire  of  promoting  the  unity  of  the  church, 
but  at  the  same  time  excusing  himself  on  the  plea  that  all  did  not 
depend  on  him  alone,  and  that  he  felt  himself  pledged  to  nothing. 

To  explain  the  fact,  how  the  popes  could  for  so  long  a  time  disap- 
point the  earnest  desires  of  all  the  well-disposed  for  the  restoration  of 
church-unity,  and  for  a  renovation  of  the  church,  now  so  deeply  de- 
pressed, and  to  understand  rightly  the  fluctuating,  uncertain  character 
of  the  negotiations  entered  into  with  them,  we  should  have  distinctly 
before  our  minds  the  relation  of  the  parties  by  which  they  were  in- 
fluenced. As  usually  happens  in  passing  from  an  old  state  of  things 
to  a  new,  three  parties  had  sprung  up :  one,  which  was  utterly  unable 
to  rid  itself  of  the  principles  of  the  medieval  ecclesiastical  law,  and  of 
papal  absolutism,  and  which  ever  eyed  with  suspicion  all  attempts  to 
set  another  authority  as  judge  over  the  pope ;  a  second,  which  was 
disposed  to  carry  out  against  the  pope  with  reckless  violence,  and 
without  sparing,  the  principles  of  the  new  ecclesiastical  law  now  in  the 
process  of  formation,  according  to  which  the  popes  should  be  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  general  councils,  —  a  party  inclined  to  radical 
revolution ;  and  the  more  prudent  and  moderate  advocates  of  the  new 
system,  of  the  new  liberty  of  the  church,  at  whose  head  stood  men 
like  D'Ailly  and  Gerson.  The  French  church  itself,  which  labored 
most  zealously  for  the  removal  of  the  schism,  and  the  reform  of  the 
church,  was  divided  into  these  three  parties,  and  their  own  conten- 
tions with  each  other  promoted  the  interests  of  Pope  Benedict,  who 
possessed  far  more  self-reliance  and  craft  than  his  predecessors,  and 
the  popes  of  the  other  party,  and  who  seems  to  have  understood  how 
to  exercise  a  certain  power  over  the  minds  of  others.  Opposed  to  the 
free  spirit  of  the  university  of  Paris  was  the  tendency  and  bent  of  the 
university  at  Toulouse,  which  was  still  fast  entangled  in  the  old  sys- 
tem. But  in  the  university  of  Paris  itself,  those  two  parties,  —  the 
party  inclined  to  radical  measures,  and  the  more  moderate  one,  could 
not  come  to  any  agreement.  The  one  wanted  from  the  first  to  put  an 
end  to  the  crafty  intrigues  of  Benedict,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  secular 
power  to  break  up  his  rule.  They  would  go  the  length  of  renouncing 
ecclesiastical  obedience  to  him,  thus  compelling  him  to  resign.  A 
welcome  thing  to  them  it  would  be  if  the  French  church  should  for 
once  subsist  without  a  pope  and  govern  itself.  It  might  doubtless  be 
the  case  also  that,  with  many,  worldly  interests  mixed  in.  The  more 
prudent  party  dreaded  a  movement  which,  once  set  agoing,  might  lead 
farther  than  was  at  first  proposed.  With  the  theological  faculty  the 
considerations  of  mildness  and  forbearance  had  the  most  weight ;  but 
they  easily  yielded  to  the  preponderance  of  the  other  faculties.  Ger- 
son, by  his  character  and  his  principles,  was  no  less  violent  in  his 
opposition  to  all  that  appeared  to  him  revolutionary  in  the  evolution 


64  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

of  the  church,  than  he  was  to  all  slavish  dependance  of  the  church 
upon  the  popes,  and  the   mean  course,  which   appeared   to  him  the 
only  right  one  between  the  two  extremes,  he  was  for  thrusting  upon 
all.     It  might  appear  surprising,  that  the  already  mentioned  Nicholas 
of  Clemangis,  the  organ  through  whom  the  Paris  university  expressed 
its  earlier  free-spoken  declarations  against  the  pope,  who,  for  freedom 
of  mind  stood  far  above  all  the  Parisian  theologians,  and  had  ventured 
to  break  through  the  common  limits  of  the  Parisian  theology,  should 
not  in  this  case,  however,  be  at  all  satisfied  with  the  bolder  party 
which  stood  forth  against  Pope  Benedict.     But  for  the  very  reason 
that  he  saw  so  deeply  into  the  corruption  of  the  church  and  its  causes, 
he  could  not  indulge  the  hopes  by  which  others  allowed  themselves  to. 
be  deceived.     He  was  convinced  from  the  beginning,  that  something 
else  must  be  relied  on  than  human  wisdom  ;  that  help  was  to  be 
expected  for  the  church  from  God  alone.     He  feared  that  by  all  the 
attempts   to  cure,  the  evil  might  only  be  made  worse.     He  was  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  neither  one  of  the  parties.     In  those  who  stood 
forth  with  the  most  freedom  and  boldness,  he  missed  a  pure  and  single 
interest  for  the  well-being  of  the   church ;  he  believed  that  he  saw 
selfish  motives.     He  beheld  little  else  but  the  contest  of  passions  ;  he 
did  not  find  the  wisdom  and  calm  collectedness  that  grew  out  of  cool 
persuasion,  by  which  alone  the  rightful  cause  could  be  ascertained. 
The  conduct  of  Benedict's  enemies  appeared  to  him  indelicate,  passion- 
ate and  unforbearing.     He  failed  of  seeing  in  it  the  respect  which  was 
due  to  the  head  of  the  church.     Although  in  his  theological  tendency 
he  was  otherwise  more  free  than  the  rest  of  the  Parisian  thelogians, 
and  not  trammelled  by  the  fetters  of  scholasticism,  yet  he  could  not  so 
easily  as  many  others  set  himself  beyond  all  respect  for  the  papal 
office.     He  feared  an  indevout  tendency,  striving  to  break  loose  from 
the  head  of  the  church.     He  saw  arbitrary  will  and  a  licentious  free- 
dom already  spreading  far  and  wide,  in  lieu  of  discipline  and  good 
order.     He  feared  that  in  place  of  dependance  on  the  popes,  in  whom 
he  would  by  no  means  approve  of  the  abuse  of  power,  would  be  sub- 
stituted a  still  more  corrupting  dependance  on  princes  and  courts. 
In  view  of  such  dangers  as  these  which  seemed  to  him  to  threaten  the 
course  of  the  party  which  proposed  to  break  loose  from  Pope  Bene- 
dict, he  was  from  conviction  an  opponent  of  those  violent  steps  against 
him.     Add  to  this,  that  Clemangis  could  not  in  particular  place  the 
least  confidence  in  those  hopes  which  were  built  on  the  declaration  of 
neutrality  by  France.     He  believed  that  by  this  divisions  only  would 
arise  in  their  own  party,  and  that  the  opposite  elements  instead  of 
being  enfeebled  would  gain  strength.     Neither  would  the  abdication 
of  Pope  Benedict  be  of  any  use  unless  the  other  pope  should  resolve 
to  do  likewise,  or  his  party  were  disposed  to  force  him  to  it.     Thus  he 
feared  that  by  division  among  themselves  and  consequent  weakness, 
the  other  party  would  only  become  more  confirmed  and  more  haughty, 
while   no  issue  would  be  reached.     These  considerations   made  him 
from  the  beginning  and  ever  after  an  opponent  of  the  proposed  renun- 
ciation of  Pope  Benedict,  and  he  held  his  position  to  the  last,  when 


NICHOLAS    OF   CLEMANGIS.  65 

his  voice  could  no  longer  be  heard  against  so  many  others,  and  what 
he  would  have  prevented  if  he  could,  was  still  carried  through.  The 
consequences  that  ensued  justified  the  views  which  had  been  express- 
ed by  him.  Add  to  this,  that  Benedict,  personally,  had  made  a 
favorable  impression  on  him.  He  was  inclined  to  excuse  the  steps  he 
had  taken ;  he  gave  him  credit  for  more  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
church  than  others  did.  He  always  carefully  abstained  from  flatter- 
ing the  pope  :  he  reminded  him  in  the  strongest  language  of  his  duty  to 
the  church.  When  the  pope  entered  upon  his  office,  Clemangis  wrote 
him  a  letter  upon  that  occasion,  in  1394,  explaining  to  him  the  point 
of  view,  such  as  we  have  already  described  it,  under  which  he  himself 
regarded  the  relations  of  the  church  at  that  time.  "  Far  be  from 
me"  —  he  wrote  —  "  any  wish  to  flatter  the  pope,  as  from  my  early 
youth,  this  worst  of  pests,  which  commits  such  frightful  ravages  on  all 
common  interests,  has  ever  been  to  me  an  abomination.  Plenty  of  those 
will  appear  before  you,  who,  unused  to  speak  the  truth,  and  inflamed 
by  a  blind  desire  of  benefices,  will  endeavor  to  flatter  your  ears  with 
deceitful  words.  Would  to  God  there  were  even  but  a  few  still  left, 
fair  and  friendly  enough,  to  tell  you  the  truth  which  engenders  hatred, 
which  is  unwelcome  to  the  multitude,  though  welcome,  as  I  hope,  to 
your  heart.  I  confess,  that  at  the  present  moment,  so  far  as  in  me 
lies,  I  am  of  this  number,  and  so  shall  remain,  should  I  address  you 
any  other  letter  in  the  future.  I  come  not  to  petition  you  for  bene- 
fices, not  to  speak  to  you  about  any  interests  of  my  own,  but  of  yours. 
And  with  good  truth  may  I  call  that  your  interest,  which  is  the  inter- 
est of  the  whole  church,  the  guidance  and  administration  of  which 
God  has  now  set  before  you."  After  reminding  the  pope  of  the  com- 
pass and  extent  of  his  duties  growing  out  of  this  relation  of  his  to  the 
church,  he  adds :  "  It  will,  however,  be  required  of  you  from  the 
Lord,  whose  vicar  you  are,  to  give  an  account  of  so  much  the  more, 
as  you  and  your  predecessors  have  taken  on  your  shoulders  of  your 
own  will,  additional  burdens  besides  what  were  long  ago  imposed  on 
you  by  the  Lord  and  the  church ;  as  you  by  setting  aside  the  custom 
of  election  to  the  bishoprics  and  other  church  dignities,  and  by  taking 
away  from  all  patrons  the  right  of  collation,  have  made  the  distribu- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  offices,  in  all  the  grades,  dependant  on  your  will. 
Whether  this  was  for  your  happiness,  you  must  judge  for  yourself ; 
but  whether  it  serve  for  the  well  being  of  the  church,  is  a  question 
the  discussion  of  which  would  occupy  too  much  space  for  a  letter." 
From  these  words  it  is  easy  to  see  —  what  accords  with  other  declara- 
tions of  Clemangis  —  that  he,  like  the  other  men  of  the  Paris  univer- 
sity who  favored  reform,  considered  some  limitation  of  the  papal  power, 
which  had  brought  everything  within  its  vortex,  —  a  limitation  of  this 
power  in  the  guidance  of  the  church,  —  as  a  thing  calculated  to  promote 
the  interest  of  the  pope,  by  freeing  him  from  responsibilities  which  he 
was  in  no  condition  to  meet,  as  well  as  the  good  of  the  church  itself. 
How  important  an  object  it  seemed  in  his  own  mind,  that  the  pope 
should  be  placed  in  contact  with  noble  and  free-hearted  men,  appears 
from  the  fact  that  he  particularly  recommended  to  him  in  this  letter, 

(J*- 


66  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

Pierre  d'Ailly,  then  chancellor  of  the  university  of  Paris.  He  de- 
scribes him  as  a  man  greatly  distinguished  by  his  knowledge,  his 
character,  and  his  zeal  for  the  unity  of  the  church  ;  a  man  whose 
virtues  had  drawn  upon  him  the  hatred  of  many.1  We  will  here 
mention,  by  the  way,  an  incident  characteristic  of  Clemangis  and  his 
relations  to  Avignon.  He  had  sent  this  letter  to  his  friends  at  the 
court  in  Avignon,  requesting  them  to  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
pope ;  but  these  friends  had  found  it  necessary  to  expunge  many 
parts  of  it.  The  letter  appeared  to  them  too  bold  ;  they  interpreted 
it  as  a  want  of  respect,  that  he  should  address  the  pope  in  the  singular 
number ;  the  encomiums  on  Peter  d'Ailly,  whose  free  and  noble  spirit 
would  not  be  likely  to  make  him  a  favorite  at  the  court  of  Avignon, 
they  thought  overdrawn,  so  they  had  taken  the  liberty  to  alter  the 
letter  according  to  their  own  will ;  for  example,  to  leave  out  the  whole 
passage  where  Clemangis  warns  the  pope  against  flattery,  since  even 
this  seemed  to  them  hardly  consistent  with  the  respect  due  to  the 
pope.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  letter,  as  Clemangis  complains,  was 
robbed  by  these  arbitrary  omissions  and  alterations,  of  its  true  mean- 
ing. Now,  had  they  presented  the  letter  in  this  mutilated  form,  they 
might  thus  at  least  have  shown  their  good  intentions  towards  their 
friend ;  but  by  putting,  as  they  did,  the  mutilated  letter  into  the 
pope's  hands  along  with  the  original,  they  may  only  have  intended 
by  such  a  course  to  shield  themselves  from  any  charge  of  disrespect 
towards  the  pope  in  transmitting  to  him  so  bold  a  letter,  or  they 
may,  as  Clemangis  suspected,  have  intended  to  make  the  writer 
himself  appear  in  an  unfavorable  light.  At  any  rate  they  must  have 
been  much  more  intent  on  their  own  interest  than  on  that  of  their 
friend.  Clemangis  bitterly  blames  this  proceeding  of  his  friends.  "  It 
is  the  pernicious  distemper  of  these  times,  —  he  says  —  and  particu- 
larly of  the  place  you  live  in,  Avignon,  to  suppose  that  truth  cannot 
please  unless  it  appears  decked  out  in  ornaments  and  concealed  by 
flattery  ;  that  if  it  be  presented  naked  and  with  freedom,  it  must  offend 
everybody  and  stir  up  against  it  anger  or  ridicule.  No  wonder  then 
that  you  have  contracted  a  taint  from  the  customs  of  the  place  and 
the  time."  2  At  all  events,  that  solicitude  of  theirs  was  unfounded  ; 
and  if  they  proposed  to  themselves  any  such  object  as  those  just  men- 
tioned, they  were  disappointed.  Benedict  could  not  have  been  dis- 
pleased with  Clemangis  for  speaking  so  freely.  This  honest  freedom 
probably  led  him  to  entertain  a  still  greater  liking  for  the  writer. 
Benedict  succeeded  in  persuading  Clemangis  to  enter  into  his  own 
service,  thereby  gaining  the  double  advantage  of  depriving  the  al- 
liance of  the  more  liberal  parties  at  Paris  of  the  talents  of  so  good  a 
man,  and  of  turning  these  talents  to  the  benefit  of  his  own  cause. 
Through  the  mediation  of  the  friends  of  Clemangis  at  Avignon,  the 
latter  was  induced  to  accept  the  office  of  papal  secretary. 

Doubtless  the  pope,  who  was  observant  of  the  change  taking  place 
in  the  culture  of  the  times,  wished  to  secure  the  better  style  of  Cle- 

1  Ep.  2.    Nic.  de   Clemangis    opp.  ed.        2  Ep.  3.  pag.  12. 
Lydius,  epp.  pag.  6 — 10. 


NICHOLAS    OF   CLEMANGIS.    '  67 

mangis  which  corresponded  to  the  more  refined  taste  now  beginning  to 
prevail,  for  his  correspondence  and  public  declarations ;  and  the  consi- 
deration which  Clemangis  offers  as  a  reason  why  he  could  not  be  fitted 
for  such  an  office,  namely,  that  he  could  not  alter  his  habit  of  writing 
into  a  common  chancery  style,  may  have  been,  in  the  view  of  the 
pope,  an  additional  reason  for  wishing  him  to  become  his  secretary. 
Hence,  when  Clemangis  mentioned  this  difficulty,  the  pope  simply 
requested  him  to  retain  the  style  to  which  he  was  accustomed.  Cle- 
mangis, by  personal  inclination,  had  no  particular  fondness  for  the 
curial  service,  or  the  life  at  court.  He  had  already  declined  many 
offers  of  the  same  kind,  which  had  been  held  out  to  him  by  princes. 
He  could  not  but  have  many  objections  therefore  to  make,  at  first,  to 
this  new  proposal ;  —  his  habits  of  freedom,  his  disinclination  to  the 
court-life,  his  physical  weakness,  and  incapacity  to  endure  any  great 
degree  of  labor.  But  the  pope  bade  his  friends  reply  that  he  should 
lose  none  of  his  freedom,  but  rather  obtain  more  than  have  less  than 
he  enjoyed  before  ;  that  in  the  labors  imposed  on  him  due  regard  should 
ever  be  had  to  his  ability  and  his  inclination.  So  Clemangis  deter- 
mined to  accept  the  place,  and  his  further  acquaintance  with  the 
court  at  Avignon,  instead  of  producing  any  change  in  his  feelings 
towards  Benedict,  seems  rather  to  have  confirmed  him  in  his  first  good 
opinion  of  the  pope,  and  in  the  friendly  regards  which  he  had  for 
him.1  He  says  of  the  court  at  Avignon :  "  While  I  would  not  say 
that  it  is  free  from  all  vices,  I  must  still  own  that  there  was  greater 
decency  of  behavior,  more  dignity  and  self-respect  in  outward  man- 
ners, than  I  have  ever  witnessed  in  the  courts  of  secular  princes." 
Certainly,  we  must  regard  this  as  a  singular  statement,  if  we  compare 
it  with  the  picture  which  Petrarch  in  his  letters  has  drawn  of  the 
court  at  Avignon ;  yet  from  the  language  of  Clemangis  himself,  it 
may  be  gathered  that  the  court  at  Avignon  was  not  of  the  character 
which  might  be  expected  from  the  attendants  on  a  pope.  He  speaks 
only  by  way  of  comparison ;  and  thus  much  at  least  may  be  true,  that 
Benedict  was  favorably  distinguished  in  this  respect  from  several  of 
his  predecessors,  and  endeavored  to  give  a  corresponding  dignity  of 
manners l  to  his  court.2  In  the  next  place,  it  is  clear,  from  what  Cle- 
mangis himself  says  respecting  his  relations  at  Avignon,  that  the  pope 
by  the  indulgence  with  which  he  treated  him,  took  a  strong  hold  on 
his  affections  and  bound  him  to  gratitude.3  No  labor  was  imposed  on 
him,  until  he  was  first  consulted,  whether  it  was  agreeable  to  him  ; 
and  if  he  had  scruples  about  engaging  in  a  matter  of  business,  because 
it  stood  in  some  collision  with  his  French  interests,  regard  was  had  to 
these  scruples.4     Thus,  with  Clemangis,  his  personal  regard  for  Bene- 

1  Ep.  14,  p.  57.  the  care  -with  which  he  was  treated  during 

1  Also  Theodoric  of  Niem,  papal  cham-  a  sickness  at  Avignon. 

berlain  at  the  Roman  court,  says  of  Bene-  *  In  the  42d  letter  he  cites  a  case,  where 

diet:  Praeterea  licet  dictus  Petrus  de  Lu-  two  cardinals  had  proposed  to  him  in  the 

na  gravitatem   pontificalia  officii  et   quid  name  of  the  pope  to  draw  up  a  writing  in 

ageret  ipso  Bonifacio  longe  melius  intelli-  favor  of  a  man  who  had  been  condemned 

geret     De  schism.  2.  c.  33.  by  the  parliament  of  Paris,     llu  had  ur- 

a  Epist.  14.    He  boasts  particularly  of  gently  entreated  that  he  might  be  let  oft* 


68  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

diet  went  with  the  opinion  he  had  formed  respecting  the  condition  of 
the  church,  to  determine  his  course  of  action  under  these  circumstan- 
ces. Let  us  listen  to  his  own  language.  How  profoundly  he  under- 
stood the  corruption  of  the  church  in  his  times,  we  see  from  some 
remarks  of  his  in  a  letter  to  a  friend.  He  supposed  that  he  witness- 
ed in  his  times  a  greater  depravation  of  manners  than  had  existed  in 
any  pagan  period,  and  that  this  could  not  be  so,  if  even  but  a  dead 
faith,  a  fides  informis,  still  existed.  "Not  love  alone"  —  says  he, 
"  but  the  mere  fides  informis  among  us  has  become  so  withered,  that 
the  words  of  our  Lord  would  fitly  apply  to  our  times :  Shall  I  when 
I  come,  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?  "  He  thinks  that  vice  could  not  so 
unblushingly  stalk  abroad,  if  the  doctrines  of  an  eternal  life,  of  future 
happiness  and  misery,  of  a  future  judgment,  really  found  faith  among 
men.  "  The  articles  of  faith  "  —  says  he  —  "  are  accounted  but 
fables."  He  thought  too,  that  in  this  dead  faith  might  already  be 
discerned  a  turning  over  to  conscious  infidelity.1  What  he  says  of  the 
general  state  of  things  in  France,2  that  the  depravation  of  morals  in 
that  country  was  the  fountain  of  all  other  evils,  and  that  reconciliation 
with  God  must  prepare  the  way  for  the  restoration  of  civil  peace,  all 
this  is,  without  doubt,  to  be  applied  also,  as  he  means  it,  to  the  evils 
of  the  church  of  his  time,  and  to  the  means  for  their  cure.  "  What 
sort  of  good  "  —  says  he  —  "  can  we  hope  for,  if  we  remain  separat- 
ed from  the  true  source  of  all  good.  Out  of  what  inferior  stream  can 
a  blessing  flow  to  us,  if  we  are  cut  off  from  the  fountain-head  of  all 
blessing  ? "  Accordingly  he  declares  that  the  great  thing  needed 
was  reconciliation  to  (rod.  And  because  this  was  the  great  need, 
everything  else,  which  was  undertaken  with  passionate  party-zeal  for 
the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church,  appeared  to  him  vain.  In  a 
letter  of  later  date  addressed  to  Pope  Benedict,3  he  says :  "  Not 
without  some  peril  to  myself  have  I  written  a  great  deal  to  you  and 
others  about  the  adjustment  of  this  hateful  schism ;  for  I  was  careful 
to  exhort  all  who  engaged  in  this  holy  work,  according  to  the  measure 
of  my  knowledge,  to  see  to  it,  that  they  set  themselves  about  so  great 
a  matter,  than  which  a  greater  has  not  been  undertaken  within  the 
memory  of  man,  in  the  right  manner,  with  a  pure  heart,  with  disinter- 
ested zeal,  with  true  charity,  and  with  becoming  modesty ;  not  with 
arrogant  pride,  not  with  an  overhasty  confidence  in  the  truth  of  their 
own  opinions,  not  with  selfish  longings  after  temporal  honor,  or  tem- 
poral advantage,  not  with  zeal  merely  to  accomplish  their  own  objects, 
nut  with  hatred  or  ill-will  towards  any  person  whatever,'  not  with 
suspicious  jealousy,  or  persecution  of  those  who  think  differently." 
He  thought  the  contrary  of  all  this,  then,  might  be  seen  in  the 
doings  of  the  several  parties  of  his  time,  as  he  himself  says :  "  All 
this,  or  most  of  what  has  mingled  in  the  proceedings  in  the  course 

from  this,  because  he  could  do  nothing  to  pope's  service.    From  that  moment  not  a 

the   prejudice  of  his   king  and  country,  word  more  was  ever  heard  on  the  subject. 

One  of  the  cardinals  consented,  but  the  P.  130. 

other    threatened     him    by    saying,   the  '  Ep.  73,  p.  210. 

pope  would  command  it.     ';  Well,"  said  2  Ep.  77,  p.  233. 

Ckmangis,  "  I  would   prefer  leaving  the  3  Ep.  13,  p.  51. 


NICHOLAS    OF   CLEMANGIS.  69 

which  this  affair  has  taken,  disturbs  it  frightfully  and  ruins  it  alto- 
gether. By  these  means,  the  situation  of  things  is  not  only  rendered 
wholly  unsuitable  for  the  restoration  of  peace  ;  but  commotions  still 
more  violent,  wounds  still  more  severe,  and  the  germs  of  new  divisions 
are  brought  upon  the  church,  which  suffers  grievously  enough  already 
from  this  wound ;  and  unless  the  grace  of  the  heavenly  bridegroom 
interfere,  she  must  plunge  into  the  gulf  of  destruction."  With  this 
agrees  also  what  he  wrote  to  the  king  of  France,  when  the  renuncia- 
tion of  Pope  Benedict  had  now  lasted  four  years.1  "You  see  what  the 
refusal  of  obedience,  sought  after  with  so  much  eagerness,  has  availed. 
It  was  said,  respect  and  obedience  to  the  pope  was  the  chief  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  restoring  unity  to  the  church ;  and  if  this  were  re- 
moved, peace  would  speedily  ensue.  This  the  whole  body  of  the 
clergy  asserted  with  the  greatest  vociferation.  Behold,  this  obstacle 
has  now  been  for  four  years  removed,  by  subtraction  of  obedience  to 
the  pope ;  and  still  we  perceive  no  signs  of  church  union.  Nay,  the 
hopes  formerly  cherished  have  either  wholly  vanished,  or  at  least  their 
fulfilment  is  put  off  to  an  incalculable  distance.  It  was  promised,  as 
a  thing  which  would  most  certainly  take  place,  that  as  soon  as  men 
heard  of  the  subtraction  by  this  kingdom,  other  states  would  imme- 
diately follow  her  example."  "  When  this  most  inauspicious  subtrac- 
tion "  2  —  says  he  —  "  had  been  extorted  from  you  by  these  intrigues, 
messengers  were  sent  out  in  all  directions,  either  those  who  had  them- 
selves been  concerned  in  bringing  about  the  subtraction^  or  those 
whom  they  pleased  to  select  for  this  purpose."  Every  thing  was 
done  to  spread  the  report  of  this  proceeding  far  and  wide,  and  to  stir 
up  others  to  imitation."  "Behold" — he  then  adds  —  "who  fol- 
lows your  example  ?  All  hold  back,  and  not  without  good  reason, 
from  subtracting  obedience  to  him  whom  they  reverenced  as  Christ's 
vicegerent  upon  earth."  It  appears  to  him  a  great  inconsistency,  to 
refuse  the  obedience  due  to  him  who  has  been  recognized  as  the  le- 
gitimate pope.  He  notices  it,  again,  as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the 
other  princes,  instead  of  being  induced  to  follow  the  example  of 
France,  had  rather  attached  themselves  with  a  more  persevering  de- 
votion to  the  acknowledged  pope.  He  says,  in  particular  of  the  other 
party :  "  They  are  excessively  elated  against  us,  ever  since  they 
heard  that  we  are  so  divided  amongst  ourselves  about  our  own  pope  ; 
and  they  are  expecting  no  other  result  from  these  quarrels  among 
ourselves,  than  that  after  we  have  deserted  our  pope,  theirs  will  ob- 
tain the  victory."  He  complains  in  this  letter  of  the  harsh  treatment 
of  the  pope  in  keeping  him  closely  shut  up  in  his  castle.  He  complains 
that  nothing  more  was  now  done  for  the  restoration  of  unity,  but  men 
were  only  on  the  anxious  look  out  to  defeat  any  attempt  to  effect  a 
reconciliation  with  the  pope  ;  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  visit  him, 
without  first  undergoing  a  thorough  search  to  see  that  he  carried  no 
letters.  Now,  since  it  was  manifest  that. the  renunciation  of  the  pope 
did  not  in  the  least  contribute   to  the  restoration  of  peace   to   the 

'   Ep.  17.  p.  63.  3  Ipsimet  subtractions  artifices. 

*  Infaustissima  obcdientiae  subtractio. 


70  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

church,  while  they  still  persisted,  however,  in  venting  their  rage  on 
him,  it  might  be  seen,  that  under  the  pretext  of  seeking  the  peace  of 
the  church,  their  real  object  had  been,  from  the  beginning,  enmity 
to  the  pope's  person.  He  defended  the  pope's  conduct,  and  main- 
tained that  from  the  first  he  had  declared  himself  ready  to  enter  into 
conference  with  his  antagonist,  the  first  step  necessary  to  any  agree- 
ment ;  and  to  adopt  any  other  means,  which  could  lead  to  the  res- 
toration of  church  unity  ;  that  he  had  in  fact  three  years  before  de- 
clared himself  willing  to  abdicate.1  "  Of  what  use  was  it,"  he  said, 
"  to  think  of  forcing  the  pope  to  abdicate,  when  it  meant  nothing 
except  as  a  free  act."  It  was  presupposed,  therefore,  that  the  pope 
should  first  be  restored  to  liberty.  He  held  that  the  most  necessary 
thing,  after  restoring  the  pope  to  liberty,  was  the  restoration  of  unity 
in  their  own  party ;  then  they  should  endeavor  to  unite  on  some 
measures  to  be  taken  in  common  with  the  other  party.  It  was  not  by 
strife,  by  revilings,  and  the  turmoil  of  the  passions,  that  a  restoration 
of  church  unity  in  any  form  was  to  be  expected ;  but  a  negotiation  for 
peace  should  be  conducted  in  a  peaceful  and  quiet  way,  and  in  a  spirit 
of  gentleness.  All  pains  should  be  taken  to  pursue  the  object  with  a 
humble,  sober  distrust,  each  man  of  his  own  judgment,  and  not  with 
proud  contempt  of  what  others  might  think  on  the  subject.  "  For  the 
Lord  often  reveals  his  mysteries  and  his  counsels,  among  which  seem 
to  belong  also  the  restoration  of  unity  to  his  church,  to  babes  and 
sucklings,  while  he  hides  them  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  that  no 
flesh  may  glory  in  his  presence."  In  his  letter  to  Pope  Benedict 
XIII., 2  where  too  he  complains  of  the  impure  motives  of  men  anxious 
only  to  have  their  own  opinion  prevail  with  regard  to  the  best  way  of 
restoring  the  peace  of  the  church,  he  expresses  his  surprise  that 
learned  theologians  —  men  of  the  church,  could  consent  to  abandon 
everything  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  secular  power ;  he  foresees  the 
mischievous  consequences  which  must  result  from  such  a  course. 
The  experiences  to  which  Clemangis  adverts,  had  influence  also  on 
others  who  had  expected  more  than  he  had  ever  done  from  that 
renunciation  of  the  pope  ;  and  now,  when  Benedict,  set  at  large  from 
his  closely  invested  castle  by  the  aid  of  an  Arragonese  nobleman, 
re-opened  on  a  more  free  footing  the  negotiations  with  France,  it  was 
more  easy  to  come  to  an  agreement ;  and,  in  the  year  1404,  a  partial 
return  took  place  of  the  Gallic  Church  to  the  obedience  of  the  pope, 
the  latter  having  pledged  himself  to  resign  the  papal  dignity  under 
the  three  following  contingencies,  that  the  other  pope  died,  that  he 
voluntarily  resigned,  or  that  he  was  deposed. 

When  in  the  year  1406,  pope  Innocent  VII.  died  at  Rome,  the  car- 
dinals of  that  party  were  full  of  zeal  to  bring  the  church  back  to  unity. 
Among  the  people  there  was  but  one  wish,  which  could  not  longer  be 
resisted.  They  were  weary  of  the  long-continued  artful  tricks,  by 
which  the  popes  of  the  two  parties  had  contrived  to  keep  up  the 
schism.     The  question  now  arose  among  the  cardinals  whether  they 

1  Page  65.  •  2  Epist.  13,  p.  51. 


GREGORY    XII.  71 

ought  not  to  abstain  from  a  new  election,  and  unite  with  the  other 
party  at  Avignon,  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  a  pope  who  should  be 
universally  acknowledged,  inasmuch  as  Benedict  had  been  compelled 
to  agree  that  in  case  of  the  death  of  his  antagonist  in  Rome,  he  also 
would  immediately  abdicate.  Thus  an  end  would  be  put  to  the  schism 
at  once.  It  could  not  but  be  very  evident  to  all,  that  it  was  only  by 
declining  to  investigate  the  claims  of  the  two  parties,  that  any  union 
was  possible.  Thus  wrote  the  well-known  Leonardo  Bruno  of  Arezzo, 
(Aretin)  famous  as  one  of  the  restorers  of  ancient  literature,  and  at 
this  time  secretary  to  the  papal  court  at  Rome,  in  a  report  which  he 
drew  up  relating  to  the  events  at  that  time  in  Rome.  "  We  can  ex- 
pect no  end  to  the  division,  as  long  as  men  are  disposed  to  quarrel 
about  their  rights,  especially  as  this  matter  has  no  judge  but  God  him- 
self."1 Among  the  cardinals  there  was  much  contention  on  the  point; 
and  they  would  have  resolved  to  abstain  from  the  new  election,  had 
they  not  been  afraid  that  they  should  give  up  something  to  the  claims 
of  the  other  party,  or  had  they  not  felt  a  certain  mistrust,  not  alto- 
gether unfounded,  in  the  sincerity  of  Pope  Benedict.  Accordingly  the 
resolution  prevailed  that  they  should  proceed  to  a  new  election,  but 
that  each  of  the  cardinals  should  bind  himself  by  oath,  in  a  more  sol- 
emn manner  than  before,  that  in  case  of-  his  election  to  the  papal  dig- 
nity, he  would  employ  it  singly  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  schism ; 
that  he  would  use  every  effort  to  effect  a  union  for  the  promotion 
of  this  object  with  the  other  pope,  and  abdicate  as  soon  as  the  latter 
would  do  likewise.  Each  cardinal  pledged  himself  moreover  that 
in  case  he  should  be  elected  pope,  he  would  undertake  to  do  no- 
thing except  what  was  required  for  that  end,  would  nominate  no  new 
cardinals  except  when  this  was  necessary  in  order  that  the  number  of 
the  cardinals  belonging  to  this  party  might  be  equal  to  that  of  the 
other.  Since  the  cardinals  then  regarded  the  present  election  as  only 
a  provisional  one,  only  a  means  to  prepare  the  way  for  electing  a  pope 
who  should  be  recognized  as  such  by  all,  and  for  the  utter  extirpation 
of  the  schism,  they  directed  their  attention  in  choosing  a  candidate, 
not  so  much  to  any  question  about  his  other  gifts  and  qualifications,  as 
to  the  point  of  gaining  in  him  a  man  free  from  ambition  and  the  love 
of  power,  and  full  of  zeal  for  the  welfare  and  concord  of  the  church. 
Great  zeal  for  these  objects  had  been  manifested  thus  far  by  Cardinal  An- 
gelo  Coravio  of  Venice,  a  man  celebrated  for  his  habits  of  austere  devo- 
tion ;  and  as  he  was  eighty  years  old,  it  was  the  less  to  be  expected 
that  standing  on  the  verge  of  the  grave  he  would  sacrifice  the  good  of 
the  church  to  the  gratification  of  his  ambition  for  a  few  brief  moments. 
He  called  himself  Gregory  XII.  After  his  accession  to  office  he  re- 
peated the  same  assurances,  which  he  had  already  expressed  as  a  car- 
dinal. What  expectations  were  formed  of  him,  may  be  seen  from  the 
following  words  of  Aretin  written  about  this  time,  who  describes  him  as 
a  man  of  antique  severity  and  holiness.     "  He  talks  of  the  unity  of 

1  Neque  enim  finem  ullum  invctcrati  ea  causa  judicem  nullum  haberet.  Leon, 
•chismatis  sperare  licebat,  si  de  jure  dis-  Bruni  Aretini  epp.  1,  2,3.  Hamb.  1724. 
ceptaretur ;  praesertim  cum  praeter  deum     8vo. 


72  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

the  church  —  says  Aretin  —  after  this  style  ;  that  if  there  were  no 
other  way,  he  would  go  on  foot,  staff  in  hand,  to  bring  it  about.  We 
must  look  to  his  actions ;  and  certainly  there  is  good  hope,  on  ac- 
count of  the  singular  integrity  of  the  man.  More  than  this,  we  find 
on  the  question  of  union,  such  an  agreement  of  feeling  among  all,  and 
the  expectations  of  all  so  intensely  raised,  that  if  he  were  disposed  to 
delay,  they  would  in  no  wise  permit  it."1  It  is  plain  from  these  words 
of  Aretin,  that  however  strong  the  reasons  might  seem  to  be  for  trust- 
ing Gregory,  still  the  disappointments  which  had  been  so  often  expe- 
rienced created  a  feeling  of  uncertainty. 

According  to  another  eye-witness,  the  pontifical  chamberlain,  Theo- 
doric  of  Niem,  a  German,  the  pope  professed  to  his  confidential  friends, 
that  it  should  be  no  fault  of  his,  if  the  union  were  not  brought  about, 
in  some  place  or  other,  even  though  it  should  be  far  from  Rome.  If 
he  could  not  have  galleys,  he  was  ready  to  set  sail  in  a  small  skiff ;  or 
if  the  way  were  better  by  land,  and  he  had  no  carriage  and  horses,  he 
would  not  be  kept  back  by  that,  but  plod  his  way  on  foot,  staff  in 
hand.2  When  Gregory  held  the  first  assembly  of  his  cardinals,  he 
still  expressed  openly  the  same  zeal  for  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the 
church.  Some  months  after,  on  being  requested  to  bestow  certain 
benefices,  he  declined,  observing  that  he  had  not  been  chosen  pope  for 
that,  but  simply  to  put  an  end  to  the  schism ;  and  so  great  was  the 
longing  after  this,  that  the  people  of  the  Roman  court,  whose  interests 
were  touched  by  such  a  repulsive  answer,  still  rejoiced  at  it,  because 
they  regarded  it  as  a  sure  pledge  that  the  pope  was  in  earnest  about 
that  which  was  so  often  on  his  lips.  In  making  known  his  resolution 
by  embassies  to  all  the  princes,  he  entered  with  great  zeal  into  negoti- 
ations also  with  Pope  Benedict,  who  was  bound  by  his  solemn  promise  ; 
and  still  had  to  fear  a  powerful  party  of  free-spirited  men  in  France, 
particularly  at  the  university  of  Paris.  The  envoys  of  Gregory  con- 
ferred with  Benedict  at  Marseilles  where  they  mutually  agreed  that  the 
city  of  Savona  was  the  most  eligible  place  on  account  of  its  situation,  for 
a  meeting  and  conference  between  the  two  popes  ;  and  that  they  should 
both  Repair  thither  on  Michaelmas  or  all  Saints'  day,  1407,  for  the 
purpose  of  abdicating  in  common.  At  Paris  the  delegates  of  Gregory, 
on  returning  with  this  agreement,  were  received  with  great  demonstra- 
tions of  joy.  It  seemed  now  that  the  long-desired  end  of  the  schism 
could  not  be  far  off.  Gregory  was  extolled  as  an  angel  of  peace. 
Only  Benedict  could  not  be  trusted.  When  the  contract,  overladen 
with  provisos,  and  drawn  up  by  Benedict,  was  placed  before  Gregory, 
with  a  smile  on  his  lips,  he  expressed  surprise  that  so  many  stipula- 
tions had  been  thought  necessary,  of  which  not  one  was  needed  here, 
since  everything  was  so  honorably  meant.4  Perhaps  Gregory,  at  the 
beginning,  was  really  of  the  temper  which  he  expressed ;  but  of  a 
truth  that  temper  was  soon  changed,  and  what  may  at  first  have  been 
so  honorably  meant,  was  afterwards  but  the  language  of  disguise  and 

1  Ibid.  p.  41.  3  L.3,  c.  12  fin. 

2  Theodorici  a  Niem  de  schismate,  1.  3,        4  L.  3,  c.  13. 
c.  6. 


GREGORY    XII.  73 

hypocrisy.  Gregory's  numerous  relations  came  together  in  Rome  ; 
and  there  they  endeavored  to  turn  his  papal  dignity  to  their  own  pri- 
vate advantage.  They  worked  upon  Gregory,  till  they  made  him 
alter  his  mind,  and  consent  to  sacrifice  the  good  of  the  church  to  the 
interests  of  the  nephews  whom  he  ought  to  provide  for.  Already  in 
April,  1407,  Aretin  wrote  :  "  Some  friends  and  kinsmen  of  the  pope, 
who  flocked  around  him  upon  his  coming  to  the  throne,  have  begotten 
in  many  the  suspicion,  that  they  are  endeavoring  to  bend  his  hitherto 
upright  will."  '  In  addition  to  this  came  the  political  movements  of 
king  Ladislaus  of  Naples,  who,  in  opposition  to  French  interests,  was 
endeavoring  to  obtain  for  himself  the  crown  of  Sicily,  against  the  pre- 
tensions of  Prince  Louis  of  Angers,  and  wished  to  secure  Gregory  as 
an  ally,  having  reason  to  fear  a  pope  favorable  to  the  interests  of 
France.  He  must  do  everything,  therefore,  to  prevent  Gregory  from 
resigning  his  post.  In  June,  the  pope  appeared  before  the  cardinals 
and  other  dignitaries,  and  openly  avowed  his  purpose,  hitherto  only  to 
be  conjectured  from  occasional  signs :  for,  although  he  had  agreed 
with  his  rival,  that  they  should  both  join  ins  a  common  abdication  at 
Savona,  yet  he  was  now  only  looking  round  for  some  way  of  escape. 
He  declared  that  he  had  no  means  for  making  the  journey  by  land, 
and  that  he  could  not  venture  to  go  by  sea  on  board  the  ships  of  the 
Genoese,  on  account  of  the  hostilities  between  the  Genoese  and  the 
Venetians  ;  that  he  must  by  all  means  have  Venetian  galleys,  but  he 
could  not  obtain  them  to  proceed  so  far  as  that  port.  The  cardinals 
being  very  much  dissatisfied  with  the  pope,  and  proceeding  to  urge 
upon  him  the  fulfilment  of  his  agreement,  he  caused  his  difficulties  to 
be  laid  before  twenty-four  eminent  jurists,  in  the  expectation  that  his 
known  wishes  would  determine  them  to  pronounce  him  free  from  the 
obligation.  But  he  found  himself  mistaken.  Still  he  could  not  even 
then  be  induced  to  alter  his  intentions.  He  pretended  that  those 
jurists  had  been  influenced  by  their  regard  for  the  cardinals,  to  decide 
contrary  to  the  truth.2 

During  these  transactions,  an  event  took  place,  which  seemed  calcu- 
lated to  deliver  the  pope  from  his  embarrassment,  and  furnish  him  with 
a  good  reason  for  not  keeping  his  word.  King  Ladislaus  of  Naples,  in 
combination  with  the  Colonna  party  in  Rome,  accompanied  by  the  mal- 
contents from  the  city,  was  approaching  with  a  hostile  force.  Aretin 
says,  that  the  pope  declared  at  first  that  all  reports  about  this  had 
been  got  up  by  malicious  persons ;  but  the  opponents  of  the  pope  per- 
ceived when  the  truth  turned  out  to  be  like  the  report,  that  what  he 
had  said  was  a  mere  pretence,  and  accused  him  of  a  secret  under- 
standing with  that  ally.  The  unexpected  attack  made  by  these  troops 
at  midnight,  excited  in  Rome  the  utmost  alarm  and  confusion.  The 
pope  took  refuge  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo.  The  stratagem,  how- 
ever, was  defeated.  The  Romans  succeeded  in  expelling  the  enemy 
from  the  city.  After  this  incident,  Aretin  wrote  :  "  Many  believe 
that  this  thing  was  purposely  arranged  by  the  pope,  in  order  that  the 

1  Aretini  epp.  1.  2,  6.  3  Theod.  a  Niem,  1.  3,  c.  17. 

VOL.    V.  7 


74  PAPACY   AND    CHUftCH    CONSTITUTION. 

whole  business  of  uniting  the  church  might  fall  through,  which  would 
have  been  the  issue,  had  the  king  been  successful.  We  by  no  means 
believe  this  of  the  pope,  but  we  have  no  doubt  of  the  guilt  of  Ma  kins- 
men." l  The  honest,  free-spirited  German  historian,  Theodoric  of 
Niem,  also  an  eye-witness,  looks  upon  the  whole  as  a  plot  of  Gregory, 
hatched  up  to  defeat  the  negotiations  for  peace.  Speaking  of  the 
pope's  flight  to  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  he  says  :  "  This  he  did  from 
design,  and  with  the  intent  that  if  the  enemy  got  the  upper  hand, 
and  proceeded  to  besiege  him  in  that  castle,  he  might  have  it  to  plead 
as  an  excuse  for  his  non-appearance  at  the  first  and  second  terms  that 
he  was  deprived  of  his  liberty." 

And  he  concludes  his  account  of  the  results  brought  about  by  the 
understanding  which,  as  he  supposes,  existed  between  the  two  allies, 
who  were  bound  together  by  a  common  political  interest,  with  the 
beautiful  words  so  often  verified  in  history  with  regard  to  events  by 
which  great  and  important  changes  are  supposed  to  be  prepared : 
"  But  man's  craft  avails  nothing  in  opposition  to  the  divine  counsels. "2 

In  proportion  as  the  crafty  pope  Benedict  found  that  his  rival  had 
no  serious  intention  of  fulfilling  the  agreement,  in  the  same  proportion 
he  manifested  the  utmost  readiness  to  fulfil  it  faithfully  on  his  part,  as 
he  could  plainly  foresee,  that  nothing  would  come  of  it,  and  he  now 
had  it  in  his  power  to  throw  the  whole  blame  on  Gregory.  At  the 
first-appointed  time  he  came  to  Savona.  But  Gregory  travelled 
slowly ;  first  to  Viterbo.  Then,  in  September,  he  came  to  Siena  ; 
but  instead  of  getting  to  Savona,  either  at  the  first  or  the  second 
term, he  remained  at  Siena  from  September  to  January.  He  had 
great  skill  in  inventing  reasons  for  not  complying  with  the  invitations 
of  the  cardinals,  and  of  the  envoys  coming  to  him  from  all  directions 
for  the  purpose  of  urging  him  to  end  the  schism.  There  was  no  route 
which  for  him  would  be  a  safe  one.  He  got  up  processions  to  implore 
divine  grace  for  the  promotion  of  the  peace  of  the  church ;  grant- 
ed indulgences  to  such  as  took  part  in  them  ;  sent  letters  of  indulgence 
to  those  in  all  the  countries  that  acknowledged  him,  who  by  their  in- 
tercessions helped  on  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church,  hoping 
thus  to  deceive  the  multitude.  The  Franciscans  who  were  his  friends, 
found  it  necessary  at  mass  to  justify  the  procrastination  of  the  pope  in 
their  sermons,  and  to  tell  the  people  that  he  could  not  make  the  jour- 
ney to  Savona  without  exposing  himself  and  the  cardinals  to  danger. 
Finally  the  pope  arrived  at  Lucca.  From  this  place  Aretin  wrote  a 
letter  relating  to  the  negotiations  for  peace  :  "After  Ave  had  arrived  at 
Lucca,  numerous  messengers  passed  to  and  fro  ;  but  nothing  is  as  yet 
accomplished,  nor  has  a  single  step  been  taken  which  seems  to  me  cal- 
culated to  inspire  the  least  hope.  In  the  other  pope  there  is  no  hon- 
esty of  purpose  whatsoever ;  though  he  disguises  his  motives  with  won- 
derful adroitness,  so  as  to  deceive  the  unwary.  But  believe  me,  there 
is  nothing  sound  about  him  ;  for  if  there  were,  what  is  there  to  prevent 

1  Aretin.  epp.  1.  2,  7.  tutia  non  suffragatur  humana.     L.  3,  c.  18, 

2  Sed  contra  divinam  ordinationem  as-    fin. 


GREGORY   XII.    AND   BENEDICT   XIII.  75 

the  object  from  being  accomplished  ?  For  if  either  one  of  the  two  were 
really  willing  to  do  what  he  has  sworn  to  do,  the  other  would  be  obliged 
to  fulfil  his  part  whether  willing  or  not  willing.  For  what  excuse  or 
evasion  could  he  have  ?  But  now  when  both  delay,  one  furnishes  the 
other  with  means  of  evasion  and  excuse.  Our  pope  is  of  a  straight- 
forward, simple  nature  ;  but  a  good  and  simple  man  is  easily  deceived 
by  dishonest  knaves.  For  some  who  are  hoping  to  obtain  honorable 
posts  from  him  have  contrived  to  get  hold  of  him  by  flattery.  These 
fill  his  mind  with  idle  fears,  and  often  bring  him  round  again  when 
he  intends  to  do  what  is  right.  As  the  present  tone  of  feeling  is.  I 
apprehend  trouble  ;  for  more  acrimony  of  hatred,  more  violent  indigna- 
tion could  not  exist."1  We  see  from  these  words,  dictated  by  the  im- 
mediate impression  of  the  moment,  the  high  state  of  excitement  pro- 
duced among  the  attendants  on  the  pope  at  Lucca,  by  these  under- 
handed arts,  and  the  fears  that  were  entertained  that  some  violent  out- 
break would  give  vent  to  the  suppressed  feelings  of  indignation.  And 
so  it  happened,  that  in  the  middle  of  the  fasts  a  Carmelite,  preaching 
before  the  pope,  the  cardinals  and  the  foreign  envoys  assembled  here 
on  the  business  of  the  union,  felt  impelled,  turning  round  to  the  pope, 
to  exhort  him  urgently  that  he  would  spare  no  effort  to  hasten  the 
union,  reminding  him  of  the  assurances  which  he  had  so  repeatedly 
given.  Two  nephews  of  the  pope,  who  had  great  influence  with  him, 
were  so  exasperated  at  this,  that  they  caused  the  preacher  to  be 
dragged  out  of  the  church  and  cast  into  prison,  where  he  languished 
for  many  days,  and  a  worse  fate  would  have  befallen  him  had  not  pow- 
erful friends  interposed  in  his  behalf.  He  was  forbidden  to  preach 
any  more  ;  and  Gregory,  to  secure  himself  for  the  future  against  being 
disturbed  by  such  honest  admonitions,  ordered  that  no  person  should 
thereafter  be  allowed  to  preach  before  him,  unless  his  discourse  had 
first  been  examined  by  some  one  of  his  immediate  attendants.2  The 
pope  was  in  no  want  of  men,  such  as  his  nephews,  whose  selfish  inte- 
rests would  naturally  prompt  them  to  confirm  him  in  his  designs  against 
the  union.  Among  these,  belonged  in  particular,  one  of  those  indi- 
viduals whose  lives  afford  the  most  striking  testimony  to  the  monstrous 
corruption  of  the  church  of  this  time,  —  a  Franciscan  who,  sunk  in 
crime,  had  been  led  by  some  outward  occasion  or  other,  in  the  later 
years  of  his  manhood,  to  become  a  monk,  and  whom  king  Ladislaus 
employed  on  his  political  errands,  and  called  his  father  confessor. 
Through  him,  the  king  had  carried  on  his  negotiations  with  pope  Gre- 
gory, and  the  latter  always  kept  him  near  his  person.  Theodoric  of 
Niem  relates,  that  a  citizen  of  Lucca  with  whom  this  Franciscan  resid- 
ed while  the  pope  was  stopping  at  that  city,  told  him  he  never  met 
anywhere  with  so  bad  a  man,  nor  would  he  suffer  him  to  remain  in  his 
house,  were  he  not  compelled  to  do  so  by  fear  of  the  governing  author- 
ities in  Lucca.3  The  two  popes  approached  a  few  steps  nearer  toge- 
ther ;  for  when  Gregory  arrived  at  Lucca,  Benedict  advanced  to  Porto 

1   Aretin.  epp.  1,  2,  10.  3  Theod.  a  Niem  de  schism,  lib.  3,  c.  15. 

a  Theod.  a  Niem  de  schism,  lib.  3,  c.  25. 


76  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

Venere.  And  yet  it  seemed  as  if  they  were  never  to  meet.  In  vain, 
negotiations  were  entered  into  respecting  a  place  of  interview,  with 
which  both  parties  could  be  satisfied.  None  was  to  be  found  safe 
enough  for  both.  Gregory  feared  the  hostile  power  at  sea ;  and  dared 
not  approach  too  near  the  coast.  Benedict  could  not  venture  too  far 
from  the  coast,  as  he  stood  in  fear  of  ambuscades  by  land.1  Aretin, 
an  eye-witness  of  these  evasive  tricks,  writes  :  "  Thus,  one  of  the 
popes,  like  a  marine  animal,  was  afraid  to  trust  himself  on  dry  land, 
the  other,  like  a  land  animal,  shuddered  at  sight  of  the  waves."1  Bat 
what  added  to  the  vexation  was  this,  that  according  to  the  common  be- 
lief there  was  no  danger,  either  to  the  one  if  he  ventured  on  dry  land,' 
nor  to  the  other  if  he  visited  the  coast.  And  it  was  the  general  opin- 
ion, that  they  both  clearly  understood  the  same  thing,  but  hypocriti- 
cally pretended  fear,  for  the  purpose  of  cheating  men  out  of  their  ear- 
nest expectations.  Hence  there  were  loud  complaints,  and  men  be- 
gan already  to  speak  openly  against  these  proceedings.  All  were  fill- 
ed with  indignation,  that  persons  of  their  age,  for  both  were  past  sev- 
enty, for  the  sake  of  sitting  a  few  years  in  the  papal  chair,  should 
put  themselves  beyond  all  fear  of  God  and  the  judgment  of  mankind. 
Aretin  takes  notice  of  the  impression  which  this  conduct  of  the  two 
popes  produced  on  the  general  mind.  "What  —  says  he  —  could 
happen  to  us  more  shameful .  and  more  dishonorable  than  that  the  two 
parties,  after  having  shortly  before  voluntarily  fixed  upon  a  place  for  the 
restoration  of  union  among  christians,  should  immediately  thereupon, 
when  the  expectations  of  all  were  intensely  raised,  show  an  unwilling- 
ness to  come  to  the  spot  ?  Some  one  may  say,  dost  thou  venture  to  write 
this,  when  thou  belongest  among  the  pope's  confidants?  Yes.  The 
case  is  so ;  for  why  should  I  now  flatter  him,  and  feign  as  if  I  thought 
otherwise  :  for  I  am  one  of  the  Christians  and  one  of  the  Italians.  It 
grieves  me  that  the  former  should  be  defrauded  of  the  union  and  of 
peace,  and  the  latter  accused  of  being  faithless,  and  promise-breakers."2 
Gregory  at  length  gave  it  to  be  understood,  that  he  no  longer 
had  any  thoughts  of  joining  with  his  rival  in  a  common  abdication. 
He  made  trial  of  other  arts.  He  put  forth  on  the  sixth  of  July 
the  proclamation  for  a  general  council,  whose  place  of  assembling  he 
would  more  distinctly  announce.  As  a  reason  for  this  he  alleged 
the  experience  which  had  been  gained,  that  a  common  abdication  was 
a  thing  impracticable  ;  the  council,  however,  included  in  itself  all 
other  means  of  restoring  church  concord.  At  the  same  time  he  assert- 
ed, in  defiance  of  the  freer  tendencies  now  springing  up,  that  it 
belonged  to  the  pope  alone  to  convoke  a  general  council ;  that  one 
assembled  without  his  permission  was  but  a  conciliabulum,  and  should 
be  considered  as  altogether  destitute  of  authority .3  This  council  <was 
at  a  later  period  actually  assembled  at  Aquileia,  but  could  do  nothing 
more  than  play  an  insignificant  farce.     The  cardinals  were  not  in- 

1  Ita  alter  quasi   aquaticum  animal  in  2  L.  c. 

siccum  exire,  alter  quasi  terrestre  undas  3  Theodoric  a  Niem  de  schism,  lib.  3,  c. 

aspicere   perhorrebat.     Aretini  epp.  lib.  2,  36. 
13. 


GREGORY   XII.    AND    BENEDICT   XIII.  77 

clined  to  let  themselves  be  mocked  any  longer  by  the  pope  ;  to 
share  the  disgrace  and  the  exasperated  feeling  which  he  must  ne- 
cessarily encounter.  Matters  were  coming  to  an  open  contest  be- 
tween them  and  the  pope.  Gregory,  unmindful  of  the  oath  which 
he  had  taken,  was  desirous  of  appointing  four  new  cardinals,  partly 
for  the  purpose  of  promoting  his  nephews  and  favorites,  partly  that 
he  might  procure  for  himself,  in  these  creatures,  some  support  against 
the  older  cardinals  ;  but  the  latter  manifested  violent  opposition  and 
declined  to  acknowledge,  as  their  colleagues,  the  persons  who,  in  spite 
of  them,  were  nominated  by  the  pope.  As  they  had  the  worst  to  fear 
from  the  obstinate  pope,  and  wished  to  act  with  more  freedom  in  some 
other  place,  where  they  could  be  safer,  they  fled  to  Pisa.1 

As  to  Pope  Benedict,  he  was  made  more  haughty  by  the  weakness 
of  his  rival.  But  he  could  meet  with  as  little  success  as  the  latter  in 
carrying  out  his  designs.  He  had  to  sustain  a  still  severer  contest 
with  the  more  liberal  spirit  in  France.  The  king  sent  him  a  letter, 
threatening,  that  unless  the  pope  came  to  some  agreement  with  his  op- 
ponent to  restore  concord  to  the  church  by  the  festival  of  Ascension 
of  the  following  year,  France  would  again  renounce  him  and  declare 
herself  neutral.  Benedict  replied  to  this  by  a  series  of  violent  steps. 
He  issued  a  bull  threatening  the  ban  and  the  interdict.  This  was 
publicly  torn  in  pieces,  and  the  pope,  at  an  assembly  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Paris,  was  declared  a  schismatic  and  heretic.  Proceedings 
were  set  on  foot  against  those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  drawing  up 
and  publication  of  that  bull  ;  and  suspected  individuals  were  violently 
persecuted.  Among  these  was  Clemangis,  who  continued,  it  is  true, 
to  be  a  friend  of  Benedict  and  dissatisfied  with  violent  measures,  as 
also  Gerson  was,  but  who  could  appeal  to  the  fact  that  he  knew  no- 
thing at  all  about  the  steps  of  Benedict,  and  also  that  the  bull  bore  in- 
ternal evidence  of  being  contrary  to  his  style.2  The  Gallic  church 
separated  itself  entirely  from  the  pope.  Orders  were  given  to  the 
French  governor  at  Genoa  to  take  possession  of  Benedict's  person ; 
but  he  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  to  his  native  country,  Arragon ; 
where  he  played  off  a  similar  farce  with  Gregory,  in  the  convocation 
of  a  pretended  general  council.  Eight  cardinals  of  his  party  repaired 
to  Pisa  ;  and  all  who  were  there  assembled,  now  joined  in  putting 
forth  a  proclamation  for  a  general  council  in  the  year  1409,  which 
should  put  an  end  to  the  schism  and  bring  about  a  reformation  of  the 
church  in  its  head  and  members,  and  whose  place  of  meeting  should  be 
at  Pisa. 

Upon  this  council  the  eyes  of  all  who  had  at  heart  the  well  being  of 
the  church  in  western  Christendom,  were  directed.  Two  great  prob- 
lems were  to  be  worked  out  by  that  council,  of  which  one  could  not  be 
worked  out  without  the  other  ;  the  long  and  earnestly  desired  restoration 
of  concord,  and  the  long  and  earnestly  desired  reform  of  a  church  cor- 
rupted and  stained  with  sin  in  all  its  parts,  and  deeply  sunk  in  world- 
lincss.     Everything  depended   at  first  on  the  question,  whether  the 

1  See  the  account  of  this  affair  in  Are-         *  Clemang.  ep.  42,  p.  129. 
tin's  report,  epp.  lib.  2,  13. 

7* 


to  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

council  would  proceed  with  clear  consciousness,  on  the  principles 
of  a  freer  system  of  ecclesiastical  law.  It  should  be  conscious  that 
itself  constituted  the  highest  representation  of  the  church,  since  it 
was  called  to  pass  judgment  even  upon  popes  ;  otherwise  it  must  suc- 
cumb to  their  policy,  and  fail  as  all  previous  attempts  to  do  away 
the  schism  had  failed.  But  then  it  was  very  difficult  for  the  cardinals 
to  emancipate  themselves  at  once  from  a  system  of  church  govern- 
ment, which  had  obtained  for  a  long  series  of  centuries,  which  was  in- 
terwoven into  all  parts  of  the  church  administration,  and  which  up- 
held itself  by  its  own  consistency.  It  was  a  contest  between  an  old 
period  and  a  new  one  which  must  break  path-way  for  itself.  The 
men  who,  with  the  full  consciousness  of  knowledge,  expressed  and 
defended  the  spirit  of  the  new  period,  thus  exerting  an  influence 
on  the  formation  of  a  new  public  opinion,  had  the  great  merit  of 
preparing  the  way  for  a  happy  issue  of  the  council  of  Pisa.  In  this, 
the  university  of  Paris  took  the  most  important  place  ;  and  the 
principal  leader  of  the  movement  in  this  university  was  chan- 
cellor Gerson ;  a  man  whose  influence,  both  as  a  writer  and  a  speaker, 
was  preeminently  great.  Let  us  first  cast  a  glance,  then,  at  the 
principles  of  reform  diffused  abroad  by  this  writer  prior  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  council  of  Pisa. 

The  system  of  the  church  Theocracy,  such  as  we  have  seen  evolv- 
ing itself  from  the  times  of  the  third  century,  was  here  by  no  means 
abandoned  ;  but  it  was  to  be  purified  from  the  heterogeneous  elements, 
which  in  the  course  of  the  middle  ages  had  become  mixed  up  with  it, 
or  which  had  proceeded  from  the  development  of  the  principle  once 
expressed  and  steadily  carried  out  to  its  extreme  consequences,  and  to  be 
reduced  back  again  to  its  original  foundation  before  the  middle  ages. 
The  externalized  conception  of  the  church,  as  of  an  organic  whole,  to 
be  traced  up  through  the  succession  of  bishops  and  the  representation 
of  church  unity  in  the  Roman  church  as  cathedra  Petri  to  a  divine  ori- 
gin, was  held  fast  as  one  and  identical  with  the  essence  of  Christianity 
itself.  But  the  conception  of  this  one  universal  church  was  placed 
foremost,  as  the  original  and  highest  idea ;  and  the  authority  of  a  sin- 
gle head  of  the  church  governance  was  made  subordinate  to  this  high- 
est spiritual  power,  and  very  much  lowered.  Papal  absolutism  was  to 
be  overturned  ;  the  universal  church  to  recover  her  rights,  the  author- 
ity of  single  bishops,  and  the  independence  of  single  national  churches 
to  be  restored.  Its  independent  authority  was  to  be  secured  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  state.  The  state  was  to  be  emancipated  from  the 
tutelage  of  church  Theocracy,  which  had  swallowed  up  all  author- 
ity into  itself.  They  were  essentially  the  same  principles  as  those 
which  had  already,  when  the  Pseudo-Isidorean  decretals  first  began 
to  claim  validity,  sent  forth  from  France  an  influence  to  counteract  the 
rising  power  of  the  popes.  Gerson  took  his  departure  from  a  concep- 
tion of  the  church  and  of  its  unity,  which  might  have  conducted  him 
to  a  more  profound  and  spiritual  mode  of  apprehending  the  matter. 
The  relation  of  the  church  to  Christ,  as  its  sole  unconditionally  neces- 
sary, invisible  head,  was  that  to  which  at  first  he  gave  the  chief  pro 


gerson's  principles  of  reform.  79 

minence.  The  essential  unity  of  the  church,  as  Christ's  spiritual 
body,  the  corpus  mysticum,  reposed  solely  on  union  with  him,  the  invi- 
sible Head,  diffusing  his  life-giving  influence  through  the  whole.  But 
he  presently  assumed,  that  the  diffusion  of  this  influence  was  condi- 
tioned on  the  organism  of  the  external  church  governance  founded  by 
Christ  himself,  whereby  the  form  was  prescribed  under  which  alone  this 
spirit  could  at  any  time  be  active.  Hence  he  considered  the  hierarchy 
in  all  its  gradations,  as  a  thing  immutable,  necessary  for  all  times,  and 
so  the  presence  of  a  visible,  ministerial  and  accidental  chief  at  the 
head  of  the  church  government,  appeared  to  him  to  be  also  necessary. 
Still  he  supposes  that,  inasmuch  as  the  church  when  the  papacy  is  va- 
cant again  produces  such  a  head  from  herself,  and  inasmuch  as  she  can 
in  certain  moments  subsist  under  the  guidance  of  the  one  invisible  head, 
without  that  visible  head,  so  also  she  has  power  to  pass  judgment  on  popes, 
to  displace  them,  and  may  continue  to  subsist  for  a  time  under  the 
guidance  of  a  general  council  of  bishops,  which  represents  her,  with- 
out such  a  visible  head,  although  the  latter  as  a  general  thing  is  ne- 
cessary to  her  organism  ;  and  she  must  ever  reproduce  such  a  head  from 
herself.  In  the  case  of  the  exercise  of  that  supreme  guidance  of  the  church 
by  the  popes,  we  should  distinguish  what  is  essential  from  what  is  unessen- 
tial, what  is  mutable  from  what  is  immutable,  what  is  founded  in  divine 
right  from  what  is  founded  in  the  letter  of  a  positive  law.  As  the  good 
of  the  whole  is  the  highest  law,  and  it  is  only  for  that  the  power  of  the 
pope  subsists,  that  power  may  be  modified  and  limited  by  a  general 
council,  as  the  general  good  may  require  at  any  time.  Hence  the  as- 
sembling of  a  general  council  is  not  a  thing  necessarily  dependant  on 
the  pope  alone.  In  a  tract  composed  at  some  time  prior  to  the  coun- 
cil of  Pisa,]  in  which  he  unfolds  these  principles,  he  says :  "  It  is  from 
Christ,  the  Head  and  bridegroom  of  the  church,  the  mystical  body 
which  is  the  church,  has  her  origin  ;  and  directly  from  him  she  has 
her  power  and  her  authority,  so  that  she  may,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
serving her  unity,  cause  the  assembling,  in  a  regular  manner,  of  a  ge- 
neral council,  which  represents  her.  This  is  evident  from  the  words 
of  Christ :  Where  two  or  three  are  met  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them  ;  where,  it  is  to  be  carefully  observed, 
that  he  does  not  say  in  the  name  of  Peter  or  of  Paul,  but  in  my  name, 
thus  intimating  that  wherever  the  faithful  do  but  assemble,  if  this  be 
done  in  his  name,  i.  e.  in  faith  on  Christ  and  for  the  weal  of  his  church, 
he  himself  stands  by  them  as  an  infallible  guide."  2  He  proves  this, 
again,  from  the  universal  law  of  nature  ;  for  every  natural  body  exerts 
a  natural  reaction  against  whatever  threatens  to  destroy  or  dissolve  it, 
and  if  it  is  an  animated  body,  it  combines  by  a  natural  necessity  all 
its  members  and  powers  for  the  preservation  of  its  unity  and  to  repel 
whatever  threatens  to  disintegrate  it ;  and  the  same  holds  good  of 

1  Propositiones,  utiles  ad  extenninatio-  re,  quod  ubicunque  congregantur  fidelcs, 

nem  praesentia  schismatis  per  viain  cou-  cum   hoc  fiat  in  nomine   buo,  hoc  est  in 

cilii  generalis.     Io.  Gersonis  opp.  ed.  Du  Christi  fide,  et  pro  ecclesiae  suae  salute, 

Pin.  Antvv.  1706,  torn  II,  p.  112,  113.  ipse  assistit  eis   tauquain  director  et  infal- 

'  Propositiones,  p.  112:  Dans  intcllige-  libilis  rector. 


80  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH     CONSTITUTION. 

every  civil  body  politic.  Accordingly  the  spiritual  body  of  the  church, 
as  the  best  ordered,  may  use  a  similar  right  for  the  preservation  of  its 
unity  and  the  working  off  of  every  schismatic  division,  as  a  thing 
whereby  the  original  order  is  disturbed.  At  a  later  period,  for  justi- 
fiable reasons,  this  power  of  the  church  was  so  limited,  that  no  coun- 
cil could  be  assembled  without  the  authority  of  the  pope.  This  was 
done  for  the  purpose  of  doing  honor  to  the  apostolical  chair,  and  of 
counteracting  those  heretics  and  schismatics,  who  sometimes  endeav- 
ored, according  to  their  own  caprice,  and  by  the  power  of  secular 
princes,  to  convoke  councils  who  would  countenance  and  uphold  their 
errors.  But  by  this  modification  in  conformity  to  the  necessities  of 
the  times,  the  fact  was  not  altered,  that  this  power,  in  itself  considered, 
ever  resides  in  the  church  ;  for  that  cannot  be  annulled  by  the  letter 
of  any  positive  law,  which  has  its  foundation  in  a  natural  and  divine 
right ;  and  the  church  therefore  may,  in  certain  cases,  convoke  a 
council  without  the  authority  of  the  pope  :  for  a  custom  which  has 
been  introduced  for  the  good  of  the  church  ought  not  to  be  observed 
to  the  prejudice  or  great  peril  of  the  same.  He  instances  the 
three  following  cases  in  particular :  1,  if  during  a  vacancy  of  the  apostolic 
chair,  a  heresy  or  another  persecution  of  the  church  breaks  out,  which 
must  be  counteracted  by  a  council :  2,  if  in  such  a  case  of  necessity,  or 
where  the  manifest  interest  of  the  church  demands  a  council,  the 
pope  should  become  insane  or  fall  into  heresy,  or  in  any  other  way 
should  be  unfitted  for  his  duty,  or  should  neglect  it  when  invited  to  do 
it ;  or,  thirdly,  if  several  individuals  present  rival  claims  to  the 
papal  dignity,  so  that  the  whole  church  obeys  neither  of  them,  and 
each  separately  refuses  to  appear  at  the  summons  of  one  or  of  both 
together,  as  the  case  seemed  to  be  at  the  present  time.  Gerson,  in 
maintaining  the  necessity  only  of  that  one  organism  in  the  church 
which  was  to  be  traced  to  a  divine  origin,  recognized  the  changes  re- 
sulting from  the  necessities  of  each  period  in  all  other  relations  of  the 
church ;  as  for  example,  in  its  relations  to  the  state  and  to  worldly 
goods ;  and  he  moreover  ascribed  to  the  church  of  Ms  own  time,  in  its 
collective  capacity,  the  right  and  the  duty  of  undertaking  such  changes 
as  the  well  being  of  the  church  might  peremptorily  require.  Here 
there  ought  to  be  no  binding  law  ;  but  the  letter  of  every  law  must  be 
subservient  to  the  highest  law,  the  weal  of  the  church  ;  human  right 
must  be  subordinated  to  the  divine.  On  these  principles,  Gerson  pro- 
ceeded from  the  first  amid  all  the  negotiations  relating  to  the  doing 
away  of  the  schism,  only  leaning  to  different  sides  according  as  he 
thought  he  saw  danger  coming  either  from  positivism  pushed  to  an 
extreme,  or  from  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  revolutionary  tendency 
plunging  headlong  into  violent  and  radical  measures. 

Again,  the  merit  of  Gerson  consisted  in  this,  that  he  directed  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  inward  corruption  of  the  church  being  the 
source  of  all  other  evil  and  also  of  the  schism,  no  thorough  and  last- 
ing cure  of  the  church  could  take  place  without  reformation ;  and  that 
it  ought  therefore  to  be  a  main  business  of  the  council  to  effect  this. 
And  he  himself  points  out  in  his  writings  and  discourses  on  reform, 


gerson's  principles  of  reform.  81 

several  particular  branches  of  ecclesiastical  corruption  in  this  period, 
which  called  for  correction.  From  what  he  says  on  this  subject,  we 
are  enabled  to  understand  the  very  low  condition  to  which  the  church 
had  fallen.  He  invites  the  bishops  to  a  more  exact  performance  of 
church  visitations.  In  making  these,  they  should  inform  themselves 
of  the  character  of  the  parish  priests,  find  out  whether  they  were 
familiar  with  the  liturgical  form  of  baptism,  of  the  consecration  of  the 
Holy  Supper,  etc. ;  because  there  were  many  who  did  not  understand 
these  things  ;  and  it  was  plain,  what  great  scandal  and.  what  danger 
grew  out  of  it ;  for  unless  God  mercifully  completed  what  was  defective, 
they  could  neither  baptize  nor  bestow  absolution ;  and  if  they  were  familiar 
with  these  forms,  yet  they  pronounced  them  in  so  hasty  and  inappropriate 
a  manner,  that  the  whole  rite  was  violated  thereby.  Then  they  should 
inquire,  whether  those  priests  could  repeat  the  sins,  and  the  articles 
of  faith,  and  whatever  else  they  ought  to  know  in  order  to  impart,  at 
least,  the  most  general  instruction  to  the  communities.  It  was  so  little 
thought  possible  to  preserve  strictness  in  the  observance  of  the  laws  of 
priestly  celibacy,  that  Gerson  seriously  proposed  it  as  a  question  wor- 
thy of  mature  consideration,  whether  priests  living  in  concubinage 
must  not  be  tolerated,  as  were  the  public  prostitutes,  to  avoid  a  worse 
evil,  which  might  arise  if  they  were  compelled  to  separate  from  their 
concubines  ;  now  that  the  number  of  those  living  in  concubinage  had 
become  so  great.  Against  such,  the  penalty  of  excommunication  was 
not  to  be  employed,  because  it  could  not  be  carried  into  effect.  If 
the  holy  men  of  ancient  times  observed  an  opposite  course,  yet  they 
had  never  seen  the  evil  so  deep-rooted  as  it  had  now  become  ;  and  how 
impossible  was  it  to  apply  at  the  present  time  the  ancient  severity  of 
church  discipline.  He  asks  for  the  abrogation  of  ecclesiastical  laws 
of  excommunication,  which  could  no  longer  be  enforced  ;  and  which,  so 
long  as  they  continued  to  exist  in  letter  served  only  to  disquiet  the  con- 
science. He  objects  to  the  too  light  use  of  excommunication  whereby 
incredible  injury  was  done  to  souls,  and  at  length  contempt  of  all  di- 
vine laws  superinduced.  It  should  be  attempted  to  find  out  to  what  use 
penance  money  could  be  applied  ;  to  ascertain  where  other  ecclesiastical 
penalties  would  be  more  salutary  according  to  the  kind  and  magnitude 
of  the  sins  committed,  and  whether  the  turning  of  those  fines,  not  to 
pious  objects,  but  to  private  emolument,  did  not  give  occasion  for  mur- 
muring. When  all  this  and  the  like  had  been  inquired  into,  the  theo- 
logian who  accompanied  the  bishop  in  his  visitations  should  preach  a 
sermon  adapted  to  the  general  intelligence  of  the  laity,  avoiding  cu- 
rious questions,  and  touching  only  upon  such  matters  as  might  serve  for 
the  improvement  of  manners  and  for  edification  ;  moreover  the  sermon 
should  remind  the  hearers  of  the  general  ground- work  of  the  faith. 
How  ridicule  of  the  saints  might  keep  company  with  superstition,  was 
shown  in  that  festum  fatuorum,  a  service  set  up  for  sport  by  the 
clergy  themselves,  on  the  festival  of  the  innocents,  the  festival  of  the 
circumcision  of  Christ,  that  of  Epiphany,  and  on  the  fast  days. 
This  abuse  had  crept  in  to  such  an  extent,  that  Gerson  proposed 
it    as   a   serious    question,    in   what   way    that    most    ungodly  and 


82  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

foolish  custom,  which  prevailed  throughout  France,  could  be  abolished, 
or  at  least  moderated.  Finally,  he  directs  attention  to  the  necessity 
of  taking  pains  for  the  improvement  of  the  schools,  holding  that  it  was 
from  the  children  the  reformation  of  the  church  must  begin  —  a  re- 
mark often  on  his  lips.1 

When  the  council  of  Pisa  was  about  to  be  opened,  Gerson  address- 
ed to  it  his  Essay  on  the  Unity  of  the  Church,2  which  he  thus 
begins :  "  To  those  who  are  about  to  occupy  themselves  with  the  rees- 
tablishment  of  concord  in  the  church,  one  of  those  who  are  zealous  for 
this  peace  of  the  church  wishes  them  all  success  in  finding  a  way  to 
this  end  !  And  though  he  is  himself  chained  and  confined  at  home 
by  necessary  business,  so  that  he  cannot  attend  the  council,  yet  the 
word  of  the  Lord  is  not  bound."  He  defends  the  authority  of  the  council 
first  against  objections  growing  out  of  the  letter  of  the  positive  law  that 
a  council  could  not  be  held  without  the  authority  of  the  pope  ;  that  a 
person  deprived  of  the  papal  authority  must  first  obtain  his  dignity 
over  again  ;  that  those  who  had  renounced  obedience  to  the  pope, 
must  be  rejected  as  enemies ;  that  no  man  can  call  the  pope  to  ac- 
count ;  particularly  if  he  has  not  erred  expressly  against  the  articles 
of  faith,  as  he  could  be  sentenced  by  no  man,  and  was  subject  to  no 
one,  and  could  not  be  a  schismatic  ;  that  it  was  dangerous  for  the  pas- 
tor to  leave  his  flock  as  he  must  do  if  he  abdicated  ;  that  each  of  the 
popes  had  done  his  utmost  for  the  purification  of  the  church,  and  was 
therefore  free  from  fault ;  that  it  was  necessary  to  inquire  on  which 
side  lay  the  right  and  the  truth,  as  without  this  knowledge  those  who 
had  erred  could  not  come  to  repentance.  Against  these,  he  sets  up 
the  following  principles.  As  the  schism  of  the  church  had  grown  out  of 
a  breach  with  God  occasioned  by  sin.  so  the  correction  of  bad  man- 
ners could  be  brought  about  only  by  reconciliation  with  God,  the  unity 
of  the  church  only  by  humility  before  God,  and  prayer.  How  other- 
wise could  men  hope  for  a  removal  of  the  schism,  if  the  cause  conti- 
nued to  operate,  unless  it  were  done  by  the  free  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  wont  to  bestow  great  blessings  even  on  the  unde- 
serving and  unthankful  ?  "  But  still  —  he  adds  —  we  must  be  co-work- 
ers with  him,  especially  at  this  moment  when  the  enemy  of  peace  is 
furious  because  the  return  of  peace  seems  nearer."  He  hints  by  way 
of  warning,  that  this  enemy  would  introduce  the  greatest  hindrances 
for  the  purpose  of  prolonging  the  schism,  sowing  discord  among  those 
who  were  to  labor  for  the  unity  of  the  church,  by  working  upon  their 
pride,  or  exciting  covetousness  or  envy.  He  asserts  that  the  church, 
by  divine  and  natural  right,  with  which  no  correctly  understood  posi- 
tive right  could  be  at  variance,  may  for  the  purpose  of  creating  for  her- 
self one  certain  vicegerent  of  Christ,  meet  together  in  a  general 
council  representing  herself ;  and  this  not  by  the  authority  of  the  car- 
dinals alone,  but  also  by  the  aid  of  any  prince,  or  other  christian. 
Human  ordinances  ought  to  serve  only  for  the  edification,  not  for  the 

1  Ttememoratio,  ibid.  p.  109:  A  pueris        2  De  imitate  ecclcsiae.  Ibid.  p.  113. 
videtvu'  incipienda  ecclcsiae  reformatio. 


gerson's  principles  of  reform.  83 

destruction  of  the  church.  The  council,  for  the  purpose  of  bri 
about  that  outward  union,  should  proceed  so  that  a  safe  conduct  should 
first  of  all  be  given  by  the  princes  and  others  to  both  individuals  con- 
tending for  the  papal  dignity,  in  case  they  were  willing  to  appear  be- 
fore the  council  to  fulfil  their  oaths.  But  if  they  had  no  confidence  in 
such  a  guaranty,  the  abdication  should  be  required  of  them  by  dele- 
gates lawfully  invested  with  full  powers  to  demand  it.  If  they  both 
refused,  the  council  should  then  proceed,  without  regard  to  them,  to 
the  election  of  a  universally  acknowledged  pope.  If  some,  however, 
should  remain  obstinately  devoted  to  one  of  the  two  popes,  and  would 
not  follow  the  judgment  of  the  council,  a  thing  hardly  to  be  supposed, 
then  they  must  see  to  it  each  for  himself,  how  this  would  stand  with 
their  own  salvation  ;  the  council  and  its  adherents  were  free  from  all 
responsibility  about  the  schism.  If  the  reformation  of  the  church  in 
its  head  and  its  members,  without  which  no  thorough  eradication  of  the 
schism  could  be  effected,  should  be  carried  through  at  the  council,  still 
the  utmost  zeal  would  be  called  for,  and  must  be  perseveringly  employ- 
ed, lest,  by  a  just  judgment  of  God  some  worse  evil  might  ensue,  if, 
after  the  restoration  of  unity,  the  church  fell  back  again  into  the  old 
corruption. 

Gerson  affirmed  that  there  could  be  no  positive  law,  which  was  ca- 
pable of  being  applied  to  the  infinite  variety  of  cases  that  might  occur. 
All  positive  laws  corresponded  to  the  necessities  of  particular  times  ; 
and  the  unity  of  the  church  could  not  now  be  restored,  unless  men 
looked  rather  at  the  spirit  than  at  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  expounded 
it  according  to  the  eternal  laws  of  divine  justice.1 

The  council  of  Pisa  proceeded  in  strict  conformity  to  the  principles 
of  the  university  of  Paris,  which  were  every  day  more  widely  diffused, 
and  on  which  too  the  existence  and  authority  of  a  council  assembled 
without  the  pope,  and  making  itself  judge  over  him,  altogether  de- 
pended. In  the  midst  of  the  transactions  during  the  thirteenth  ses- 
sion, appeared  an  eminent  theologian,  Master  Plaul,  who  set  forth  and 
expounded  the  principles  of  the  supreme  authority  of  general  councils, 
in  a  way  that  commanded  universal  acquiescence.2  The  council  was 
opened  by  the  cardinal  Peter  Philargi,  archbishop  of  Milan,  afterwards 
nominated  pope,  with  a  discourse,  in  which  he  impressively  described 
the  mischiefs  which  had  arisen  from  the  contest  between  the  two  popes. 
He  said  :  "  You  know  how  those  two  wretched  men  calumniate  one 
another  and  disgrace  themselves  by  invectives  full  of  rant  an  1  fury. 
Each  calls  the  other  antipope,  obtruder,  antichrist.1'  What  violence 
was  done  by  such  language  to  Christian  feeling  ;  how  was  right  turned 
into  wrong!  "  For  —  says  he  —  each  of  them  to  gain  patrons  \n  the 
world,  to  make  his  own  party  stronger  by  this  or  that  person,  dares  not 
give  a  repulse  to  anybody  that  asks  for  anything.  The  man  whom  one 
rightly  condemns,  the  other  pronounces  not  bound.  And  thus  all  order 
is  turned  to  confusion."  3  From  the  evils  of  the  mischievous  schism 
which  he  pourtrays,  he  argues  the  necessity  of  the  assembling  of  a 

1  Quatuor  considerationes.      P.  119  A.  3  P.  98. 

s  H.  v.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  II.  p.  132. 


84  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

general  council,  from  which  alone  the  cure  was  to  be  expected.     Not 
one  of  the    more    ancient    councils  —  he  declared  —  had   ever   been 
brought  together  by  causes  more  urgent.     When,  after  the  third  cita- 
tion, no  delegate  from  the  two  popes  appeared  in  their  defence,  they 
were  condemned,  first  as  contumacious,  (in  contumaciam.)     Next,  the 
council  declared,  in  its  ninth  session,  that  since  Gregory  and  Benedict 
had  been  unfaithful  to  the  oaths  they  had  taken  on  the  matter  of  abdi- 
cating for  the  good  of  the   church,  all  might  rightfully  refuse  to  pay 
thorn  ecclesiastical  obedience.     Then  in  the  fifteenth  session  they  were 
declared  schismatics  and  heretics,  and  deposed  from  all  their  ecclesi- 
astical dignities.      All  of  whatever  rank,  even  kings  and  emperors, 
were  absolved  from  the  oath  of  obedience  given  to  these   popes,  an  1 
it  was  forbidden  on  penalty  of  the  ban  to  recognize  them  henceforth  aa 
popes,  and  to  obey  them  as  such ;  the   papal  chair  should  from  that 
moment  be  considered  as  vacant.     To  the  protest  of  the  emperor  Ru- 
pert, who  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Gregory,  no  regard  whatever 
was  paid.     When,  after  the  eighteenth  session,  the  delegates  of  Pope 
Benedict  XIII.,  escorted  by  an  envoy  from  the  king  of  Arragon,  who 
was  an  adherent  of  Benedict  appeared,  they  were  received  with  loud 
and  violent  outcries.     One  protocol  reports,1  "  a  cry  rose  against  them 
as  if  they  were  Jews."     When  one  of  the  delegates,  the  archbishop 
of  Taraco,  named  him  as  pope,  he  was  interrupted  with  loud  shouts, 
and  the  delegates  afterwards  retired  without  accomplishing  anything. 
The  council  had  now,  as  they  supposed,  resolved  one  of  the  problems. 
By  deposing  the  two  popes  they  had  put  an  end  to  the  schism :  so 
that  nothing  stood  any  longer  in  the  way  of  the  election  of  a  uni- 
versally acknowledged    pope.       But,  in  truth,  this  was    so  only  in 
appearance  ;  for  Gregory  and  Benedict  had  still  their  adherents  ;  and 
if  a  new  pope  were  to  be  chosen,  he  could  the  less  reckon  upon  a  uni- 
versal acknowledgment,  unless  by  what  he  did  for  the   good  of  the 
church,  he  was  wise  enough  to  gain  over  the  hearts  of  the   rebellious. 
In  this  regard,  the  most  important  thing  was  the  reformation  of  the 
church  in  capite  et  7nembris,  which  had  so  long  been  earnestly  desired. 
That  without  this,  a  thorough   extirpation  of  the  schism  was  not  to  be 
thought  of,  had  indeed  been   emphatically  testified  by  such  men  as 
D'Ailly,  Gerson,  and  Clemangis.     In  the  sixteenth  session,  the  cardi- 
nals pledged   themselves,  that  whichever  of  them  should  be  elected 
pope,  would  not  break  up  the  council  until  one  of  the  necessities  of  the 
church,  a  satisfactory  reformation   in   capite  et  membris,  should  be 
effected.      The  cardinals  then  proceeded  to  elect  a  pope,  and  the 
choice  fell   upon  the  cardinal  Peter  Philargi,  archbishop  of  Milan. 
This  person,  then  sixty  years  old,  was  born  in  Candia,  while  that  isl- 
and stood  under  the  rule  of  the  Venetians.     He  was  of  Greek  de- 
scent.    Having  been  early  left  an  orphan,  he  was  adopted  when  a 
boy  by  the  Franciscans ;  and  care  was  bestowed  upon  his  education 
within  the  order.     Thus  he  became  himself  a  member  of  it.     He  had 
visited  the  most  eminent  universities,  Oxford  and  Paris,  and  was  es- 

1  Sessio  specialis,  p.  142. 


COUNCIL    OF   PISA.  85 

teemed  as  a  man  well-skilled  in  the  scholastic  theology  of  the  day. 
The  account  given  of  him  by  the  free-spirited  Theodoric  of  Niem 
would  not  lead  us  to  regard  him  exactly  as  a  man  of  spiritual  temper 
or  life.  lie  knew  nothing  else  to  say  of  him,  except  that  he  liked 
to  enjoy  life,  and  drank  strong  wine.1  He  called  himself  Alexander 
V.  The  Parisian  Chancellor  Gerson,  who  had  been  prevented  from 
attending  the  earlier  sessions  of  the  council,  still  came  in  time  after 
the  completion  of  the  pope's  election,  to  preach  a  discourse  before 
Alexander  V.,  amid  the  assembled  council,  in  which  he  confirmed 
the  principles  on  which  the  council  of  Pisa  had  acted,  and  reminded 
the  pope  of  his  duties  to  the  church.2  He  took  for  his  text  Acts  1 :  6, 
and  from  the  words  of  this  passage  proceeded  to  draw  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  actual  state  of  the  church  and  what  it  should  be,  as  repre- 
senting the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  he  invited  the  pope  to  engage 
with  all  zeal  in  the  work  of  bringing  the  church  to  the  realization  of 
this  idea.  lie  certainly  could  not  have  known  by  what  kind  of  move- 
ments this  papal  election  had  been  brought  about,  nor  could  he  have 
divined  what  was  to  be  expected  from  an  election  which  had  been  so 
brought  about,  when  he  praised  all  that  had  thus  far  been  done  by  the 
council  as  a  work  of  God.  The  church,  he  began,  sighing  under  the 
evils  of  the  schism,  had  cried  out  to  the  Lord  :  "  When  wilt  thou 
restore  again  the  kingdom  in  Israel  ?  "  and  this  prayer  had  in  part 
been  heard.  "  For —  says  he  — from  whom  comes  this  your  choice  ? 
Comes  it  not  from  Christ  ?  Whence  so  wonderful  a  convocation  of  the 
council  ?  Whence  the  unheard  of  agreement  of  men  just  before  con- 
tending with  each  other  ?  Whence  so  speedy  an  assemblage  of  so 
many  bishops  and  learned  men  ?  Assuredly  from  God  ;  who  is  not  a 
God  of  confusion  but  of  peace."  He  next  defends  the  council,  as  a 
work  of  God,  from  objections  made  against  its  validity.  "  The  pope 
had  not  convoked  it ;  therefore  it  was  but  a  conventicle.  0  ridiculous 
and  unreasonable  judgment."  He  adverts  to  the  examples  of  assem- 
blies occurring  in  the  acts  of  the  apostles,  which  had  not  been  convok- 
ed by  the  apostle  Peter  ;  the  example  of  the  general  council  of  Nice, 
which  had  not  been  assembled  by  the  Roman  bishop  Silvester,  but  by 
the  Emperor  Constantine  ;  the  example  of  the  fifth  ecumenical  coun- 
cil, to  the  meeting  of  which,  as  he  supposes,  the  bishops  had  mutually 
invited  each  other.  "  Were  these,  then,  conventicles  '(  Be  very  careful 
how  you  assert  any  such  thing.  And  suppose  now  —  says  he 
—  the  division  among  Christians  renders  it  uncertain  which  of  the 
two  rivals  they  should  reverence  as  the  pope  ?  Suppose  the  pope,  which 
is  a  very  rare  case,  should  fall  into  heresy?  "  He  cites  the  example  of 
Liberius  who  had  subscribed  an  Arian  confession  of  faith,  of  Marcelli- 
nus  who  is  said  to  have  offered  to  idols.  Suppose  one  oppresses 
Christendom  with  intolerable  burdens  ?  Dost  thou  leave  us  any  other 
remedy  against  so  grievous  distempers  ?  I  do  leave  such  an  one, 
thou  wilt  say.      I  believe  it,  most  assuredly  ;  for  thou  wouldst  attribute 

1  I)e  schism.  1.  3,  c.  51,  p.  180:  Lihenter         2  Gerson.  sermo  coram  Alexandra,  etc. 
bene  ct   laut'  vivebat,  bibendo  ut  frequen-    Ibid.  p.  131. 
ter  vina  fortia,  et  delectabatur  in  illis. 
VOL.  V.  8 


86  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

to  the  church-constitution  too  great  imperfection,  and  not  recognize  it 
as  one  wholesomely  established  of  God,  whose  works  are  all  perfect,  if  it 
were  capable  of  being  attacked  by  a  distemper  to  which  no  remedy 
could  be  applied.     Yet  in  the  cases  mentioned  no  remedy  is  left,  if 
the  church  could  never  come  together  unless  convoked  by  the  pope." 
He  then  represents  the  church  as  turning  to  the  pope,  and  addressing 
him  the  invitation  to  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel.     He  represents  her 
as  expressing  the  hopes  he  had  inspired  her  with.     He  reminds  the  pope 
of  the  obligation  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all  nations ;  speaks  of  the 
Saracens,  of  the  people  of  India,  who  needed  the  restoration  of  pure 
doctrine,  because  they  had  been  so  long  separated  from  the  church 
of  Rome.     He  next  comes  to  speak  of  the  Greeks,  to  whom  he  ac- 
knowledges that  the  Latins  were  greatly  indebted  ;  and  thinks  he  may 
be  the  more  brief  on  this  point,  inasmuch  as  he  is  speaking  before 
one  descended  from  this    nation.       He   then  invites  the  pope  so  to 
direct  his  eiforts  that  the  remains  of  the  schism,  the  two  popes  still 
having  their  parties,  might  be  destroyed,  which  could  easily  be  brought 
about  by  his  zeal  and  the  activity  of  the  princes  united  with  him.     He 
proceeds  next  to  speak  of  the  internal  condition  of  the  church.     He 
speaks  of  the  dissolution  of  ecclesiastical  order  occasioned  by  the  papal 
exemptions :    describes  how  the    bishops  had  broke   loose  from    the 
archbishops,  and  so  again  the   subordinates  of  the  bishops  from  their 
authority.     He  complains  that  the  monks,  who  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
voting their  life  exclusively  to  works  of  christian  charity  and  to  science, 
had  voluntarily  renounced  all  earthly  possessions — the  mendicants — were 
aspiring  after  the  highest  spiritual  dignities  ;  or  if  they  could  have  no 
hope  of  obtaining  them,  after  the  inferior  benefices.     "  It  is  singular, 
that  none  should  be  so  eager  to  grow  rich,  as  those  whose  vocation  forbids 
them  to  be  rich.     For  why  do  they  incessantly  besiege  the   ears  of 
the  pope,  with  the  hope  of  extorting  new  benefices  ?     Let  them  answer 
it  to  themselves,  whether  they  have  in  view  the  common  good,  rather 
than  to  fill  their  own  purses,  to  live  in  splendor,   and   bid  adieu  to 
the   poverty  which   they  have  vowed.     Albeit  experience  has  taught 
me  much,  yet  I  will  not  judge."     He  complains  that  nearly  all  defied 
with  the  greatest  vehemence  the   ecclesiastical  laws,  sometimes  asking 
for  permission  to  unite  offices  which  were  incompatible  with  each  other ; 
sometimes   to   enjoy   the   revenues  of  benefices  as  absentees ;  some- 
times to  obtain  high   dignities  before  the  maturity  of  years  ;  some- 
times not  to  be  compelled  to  receive  ordination,  and  a  thousand  other 
things  forbidden  by  the  laws.     Was  it  not  intolerable,  that  the  great 
prelates  should   give  up  the  flocks  entrusted  to  them,  as  a  prey  to 
wolves,  and   daily  busy  themselves  in   the  computation  of   princely 
finances,  disregarding  the  commandment  of  the  apostle  Paul,  2  Tim.  2: 
4  ?    He  inveighs  against  those  prelates  who  engaged  in  the  trade  of  war, 
and  from  bishops  turned  into  commanders  of  armies.     What  was  more 
shameful  than  to  see  learned  men  of  good  manners,  either  deprived  of 
ordination,  and  without  any  spiritual  office,  or  occupying  the  lowest  po- 
sitions, while    the   unlearned  and  vicious  rose   to  the  highest  places  ; 
to  see  the  former  starving,  and  the  latter  besotted  ?     He  expresses  his 


COUNCIL   OF   PISA.  87 

indignation,  that  where  all  strife  should  be  banished  afar,  that  there 
strife  was  sown  broadcast.  Scarcely  was  there  a  benefice  bestowed, 
which  the  pope  did  not  confer  on  one  man,  the  legate  on  another,  and 
the  bishop  on  a  third.  And  was  it  less  absurd,  that  these  benefices 
should  be  conferred  more  out  of  respect  to  human  favor  or  fear,  to  im- . 
pure  desires,  to  relationship,  or  to  some  whim,  than  from  judgment 
and  selection  ?  To  these  abuses  he  traced  all  the  divisions.  "  Do 
they  not  strive  —  he  represents  the  church  as  saying  —  much  more 
how  they  may  secure  benefices  by  the  laws  of  Justinian,  than  how 
they  may  teach  the  people  the  law  of  Christ  ?  Do  I  say  teach  ?  nay, 
I  should  rather  say  learn.  For  what  man  of  the  whole  number  of 
priests  canst  thou  point  out  to  me,  who  is  not  unskilled  in  the  law  of 
Christ  ?  Do  they  not  labor  much  more  after  gain  than  to  win  souls  ?  " 
He  laments  those  extortions  practised  on  the  communities,  for  which 
unjust  complaints  served  as  a  pretext.  He  complains  of  the  concubin- 
age, the  open  debaucheries  of  ecclesiastics.  He  represents  the  church 
as  expressing  the  hope,  that  the  pope  who  from  childhood  had  been 
bred  up  in  the  severe  spiritual  life,  would  call  men  like-minded  with 
himself  to  the  benefices,  and  hold  unspiritual  men  at  a  distance.  "  If 
—  says  he  —  you  do  this,  which  the  duty  of  the  high  calling  you 
have  undertaken  necessitates,  then,  after  the  extirpation  of  all  roots 
of  schism,  christian  peace  will  again  take  possession  of  the  world. 
The  depravation  of  manners  was  the  first  cause  of  the  evil ;  therefore 
the  reformation  of  manners  will  be  the  first  cause  of  good."  Then  he 
comes  to  the  immediate  attendants  on  the  pope,  reminding  him  that  he 
would  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  accomplish  such  a  work  without  the 
concurrence  of  those  who  were  stationed  near  him.  He  advises  him 
to  care  less  for  minor  things,  and  to  expend  all  his  zeal  on  the  greatest 
and  most  important. 

Before  his  coronation,  the  pope  declared  that  he  should  occupy 
himself  with  the  reformation  of  the  church,  as  he  and  the  rest  of  the 
cardinals  had  pledged  themselves  to  do  previous  to  the  election.  And 
he  proposed  that  pious  and  learned  men  should  be  selected  out  of 
every  nation,  to  labor  at  this  task  in  connection  with  the  cardinals.1 
In  the  twentieth  session  he  confirmed  all  the  measures  that  had  been 
taken  by  the  cardinals,  since  the  time  they  had  come  together,  for 
the  union  of  the  church,  and  all  the  decrees  and  ordinances  of  the 
council ;  and  he  was  disposed  to  complete  all  that  was  still  wanting,  in 
a  juridical  and  practical  point  of  view,  whenever  and  to  whatever 
extent  it  might  be  necessary.  He  united  the  two  parties  among  the 
cardinals,  Roman  and  French,  so  that  for  the  future  they  should  form 
together  one  college.  It  is  deserving  of  remark,  that  the  pope  thought 
it  necessary  to  confirm  the  judgments  and  ordinances  of  the  council, 
and  to  supply  what  was  wanting  in  order  to  their  validity,  —  a  thing, 
however,  which  strictly  taken  conflicted  with  the  recognition  of  the 
unconditional  supreme  authority  of  general  councils,  and  by  which  at 
bottom  the  principles  on  which  depended  the  validity  of  his  own  elec- 

1  See  Hardt.  to  in.  II,  p.  146. 


88  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

tion,  were  unsettled.  Neither  was  the  earnestly  desired  reformation 
of  the  church  brought  about  at  this  council ;  but  the  pope  directed,  in 
the  twenty-second  session,  that  after  three  years  a  general  council 
should  again  assemble,  at  some  place  which  should  be  designated  a 
year  beforehand.1  And  it  was  next  ordered  in  the  final  session,  the 
twenty-third,  that  "  Whereas  the  pope  had  it  in  purpose,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  council,  to  reform  the  church  in  its  head  and  members  ; 
and  whereas,  by  the  grace  of  God,  much  has  been  actually  set  in 
order  by  him ;  and  whereas,  many  other  things,  relating  to  the  order 
of  the  prelates  and  other  subordinate  ecclesiastical  persons,  still  re- 
mained to  be  done,  which,  owing  to  the  premature  departure  of  the 
prelates  and  delegates,  could  not  be  brought  about,  therefore,  the 
transactions  respecting  the  reformation  should  be  suspended  until  the 
meeting  of  the  above  mentioned  second  council,  and  then  and  there 
continued."  This  next  council  was,  therefore,  to  be  a  continuation  of 
the  council  of  Pisa.  —  Such  was  the  termination  of  the  council,  from 
which  men  had  expected  at  length  the  subdual  of  the  schism,  and  the 
renovation  of  the  church. 

The  most  striking  judgment  on  the  course  of  proceedings  at  this 
council,  and  the  causes  why  it  so  little  answered  the  expectations 
which  it  had  excited,  is  passed  by  Nicholas  of  Clemangis,  the  man 
best  informed  about  the  faults  of  his  time.  "  What  means  2  it  to  cry 
Peace,  Peace,  when  there  is  no  peace,  except  it  be  only  to  have 
regard  for  temporal  peace  and  neglect  spiritual,  without  which  not 
even  any  true  and  certain  temporal  peace  can  be  obtained?  What 
else  at  the  council  of  Pisa  deceived  the  church  of  God  and  the  people, 
and  made  them  cry  out  Peace,  Peace,  when  there  was  no  peace  ? 
Was  it  not  just  this,  that  fleshly-minded  men,  filled  with  worldly 
desires,  which  get  the  upper  hand  wherever  love  grows  cold,  inflamed 
and  quite  blinded  with  the  zeal  of  getting  benefices,  prevented  the 
reformation  of  the  church,  which  the  majority  of  believers  and  of  well- 
disposed  men  longed  after  beyond  all  things  else  ;  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  a  new  election  ?  And  when  this  had  been  effected,  and 
they  had  obtained  the  desired  promotions,  they  cried  out,  It  is  peace. 
And  after  the  council  was  dissolved,  they  returned  home  with  the 
peace  which  they  were  after,  that  is,  with  their  promotions."  As  an 
example  to  show  the  mischief  which  must  inevitably  arise,  when  a 
council  imagine  themselves  following  the  suggestions  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  without  having  first  taken  pains  to  make  themselves  susceptible 
of  his  guidance  by  a  suitable  temper,  he  cites  this  council  of  Pisa. 
"  Those  —  he  says  —  who  attended  the  council  of  Pisa,  decreed  and 
published,  that  by  a  new  election,  which  was  hastily  made  in  com- 
pliance with  the  wishes  of  a  few  ambitious  men,  they  had  removed 
schisms  from  the  church  and  restored  peace  to  her.  And  who  in  the 
church  is  so  blind  as  not  to  understand  clearly  by  experience,  how 
much  they  themselves  and  the  whole  church  were   deceived  by  that 

1  P.  155.  2  Clemangis  super  mater,  cone,  gener., 

opp.  p.  70.  3  P.  64. 


CLEMANGIS   ON   THE   COUNCIL   OF   PISA.  89 

opinion  ?  Nothing  worse  could  have  been  done  to  the  church,  nothing 
more  dangerous  to  union,  than  before  every  thing  had  been  duly 
arranged,  and  placed  on  the  basis  of  security  and  concord,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  treat  of  peace  at  all,  to  proceed  to  a  new  election,  —  the  very 
thing  which,  from  the  beginning,  had  laid  the  foundation  of  schism, 
had  prolonged  it  to  such  a  duration,  and  had  in  so  incredible  a  man- 
ner brought  the  church  down  to  the  ground.  So  long  as  the  hanker- 
ing after  benefices  causes  this  same  thing  to  be  done,  so  long  shall  we 
look  in  vain  for  a  union  of  the  church. 

What  Clemangis  here  says,  we  find  confirmed,  when  we  come  to 
obtain  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  the  intrigues  which  had  brought 
about  the  election  of  Pope  Alexander,  and  of  all  that  contributed  to 
promote  the  evils  that  followed  in  its  train.  So  far  was  it  from  being 
true,  that  anything  had  been  reformed,  everything,  in  fact,  went  on 
from  Avorse  to  worse,  till  the  evil  reached  its  climax,  and  thus  the  fall 
of  his  power  was  a  necessary  result.  The  person,  who,  at  the  last 
moment,  had  labored  most  to  bring  about  this  election,  and  who  from 
henceforward  obtained  the  greatest  influence,  was  Cardinal  Balthazar 
Oossa,  of  Bologna,  a  man  stained  with  every  crime,  —  one  who  could 
only  in  these  times  of  extreme  corruption  have  risen  to  the  highest 
spiritual  dignities.  He  had,  as  Theodoric  of  Niem,  an  eye-witness 
of  many  of  these  events,  relates,  begun  his  career  when  a  young  man, 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  himself,  as  a  pirate :  then  he  had  spent  several 
years  at  the  university  of  Pisa,  as  Theodoric  of  Niem  characteristi- 
cally expresses  it,  sub  figura  studentis  ;  following  the  habit  he  had 
acquired  from  his  earlier  occupation  as  a  pirate,  to  wake  by  night, 
and  to  sleep  all  day,  "  or  till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon."  Pope 
Boniface  IX.,  under  whom  the  worst  characters  were  chiefly  pro- 
moted, drew  him  to  the  Roman  court  and  made  him  a  cardinal.  He 
exercised,  as  papal  legate  at  Bologna,  an  unlimited  dominion,1  and  he 
made  use  of  it  to  enrich  himself  in  every  possible  way.  All  means  to 
this  end  were  right  enough  for  him.  He  shrunk  from  no  crime,  prac- 
tised the  most  unblushing  extortions,  and  every  species  of  impudent 
simony,  and  abandoned  himself  to  every  excess.  In  such  a  time 
of  corruption,  he  was  able  by  his  immense  wealth  to  obtain  great 
influence,  which  enabled  him  to  carry  out  his  objects.  Already,  at 
the  council  of  Pisa,  he  was  to  be  chosen  pope ;  but  he  did  not  then 
choose  it  himself,  preferring  to  push  forward  another  first,  who  could 
[>resent  a  better  show  for  himself,  and  whom  he  might  still  be  able  to 
govern  entirely.  It  was  that  weak  old  man,  Alexander  V.,  whom 
Balthazar  had  wholly  under  his  control.  Of  course,  a  papal  govern- 
ment which  stood  under  the  influence  of  so  infamous  a  character  as 
Balthazar  Cossa,  was  suited  neither  to  gain  new  friends  nor  to  put 
down  the  schism.  Thus  what  had  been  gained,  was  three  popes  in- 
stead of  two.  Balthazar  Cossa  was  more  at  home  in  diplomatic  nego- 
tiations and  enterprises  of  war,  than  in  spiritual  affairs.  He  understood 
how  to  draw  off  his  old  friend,  the  companion  of  his  debaucheries, 

/    '  Theod.  de  Niem  de  fatis  Joh.  XXIII,  c  9,  u.  10,  bei  H.  v.  d.  Hardt.  II,  p.  348. 


90  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

King  Ladislaus  of  Naples,  from  the  cause  of  Pope  Gregory.  He 
understood  how  to  bring  it  about  to  have  Rome  open  her  gates  to 
Alexander  V.  The  latter  was  now  invited  to  take  his  seat  in  Rome. 
But  Balthazar  Cossa,  who  would  have  him  more  in  his  own  power  at 
Bologna,  did  not  allow  of  this  ;  he  must  go  to  Bologna  ;  and  there  he 
soon  died,  in  the  year.  1410.  A  far-spread  report  accused  Cardinal 
Cossa  of  deliberately  taking  him  off  by  poison.  The  former  now 
mounted  the  papal  throne  under  the  name  of  John  XXIII.,  the 
greatest  monster  that  had  ever,  or  at  least  that  had,  since  the  abomina- 
tions in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  polluted  the  papal  chair. 
As  Balthazar  Cossa  had  until  now  risen  from  one  high  post  to  another 
by  bribery  and  corruption,  so  he  hoped  he  should  by  the  same  means 
succeed  as  pope,  in  whatever  he  undertook ;  that  by  his  money,  his 
power  and  his  policy,  he  should  be  able  to  repress  all  the  counter- 
active influences  of  that  better  spirit,  which,  for  so  long  a  time,  had 
been  earnestly  and  ardently  longing  after  a  reformation  of  the  church. 
And  at  the  beginning  all  seemed  to  go  well.  He  hoped  he  should  be 
able  to  gain  over  the  university  of  Paris,  whose  free  voices  he  had 
most  reason  to  fear,  by  the  bestowment  of  numerous  benefices  and 
other  gratifications.  D'Ailly  reports,  in  his  treatise  on  the  Necessity 
of  Reformation,  which  he  composed  a  little  later  and  near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  council  of  Constance,  that  Pope  John  who  had  probably 
been  told  by  some  Ultramontanes,  that  if  he  only  gained  over  the 
university  of  Paris,  he  had  nothing  further  to  fear,  heaped  upon  it  a 
multitude  of  benefices  to  the  injury  of  other  corporations,  and  that  of 
his  own  court.1  With  the  same  object  in  view,  he  created  Gerson's 
teacher  and  friend,  the  above  mentioned  Pierre  d'Ajlly,  archbishop  of 
Cambray,  a  cardinal.  It  had  indeed  already  been  ordered  by  the 
council  of  Pisa,  that  after  three  years  a  council  should  be  held  to 
carry  forward  the  reformation  of  the  church,  which  had  not  been 
completed  at  Pisa.  Pope  John  hoped  to  be  able  in  this  case  also 
again  to  disappoint  the  expectation  of  the  nations,  and  turn  the  coun- 
cil into  a  farce.  He  actually  convoked  in  Rome,  at  the  time  fixed 
upovi  in  the  year  1412,  a  reformatory  council ;  but  who  could  expect 
that  anything  whatever  would  result  from  a  council  in  Rome,  and 
under  the  management  of  the  most  abominable  of  popes  ?  Only  a  few 
Italian  prelates  attended,  and  having  busied  themselves  with  some 
unimportant  matters,  the  council,  after  a  few  sessions,  broke  up.2     We 

1  De  necessitate  rcformationis  cap.  26,  comprehenduntur,  ut  prius  obtentis  ab  ipso 

in  Gcrs.  opp.  torn.  II,  p.  900:   Nee  est  si-  per  aliquas,  nedum  aliorura  universalium 

lentio   transeundum,  quod  ipse   dominus  studiorum  graduatis,  sed  etiara  suae  curiae 

Johannes  papa,  informatus  forsan  per  ali-  officialibus,  quibuscunque  et  quantumcun- 

quos  ultramontanos,  petentes  in  sua  curia,  que  suffieicntibus,  enormiter  derogarit. 
quod  si  universitati  studii  Parisiensis  pe-        'z  The  remarks  of  Nichol.  of  Clemangis 

titionibus   quibuslibet  exorabilem  se  red-  on  this  council,  which  he   wrote   in  the 

deret,  tuto  regnaret,  nee  tunc  haberet  de  year  1416,  are  :  Con vocaverat  ante  quatu- 

reliquis  suae  obedientiae  in  aliquo  dubita-  or  ferme   annos   Romae  concilium  eccle- 

re.     Ipse  quodam  servili  timore,  adco  mi-  siae,  maxima  quorundam  impulsus  instan- 

rabiles  et  prius  a   seculis   inauditas  prae-  tia,    Balthasar   ille  pertidissimus  nuper  e 

rogativas  concessit,  in  gratiis  exspectativis  Petri   sede    (quam     turpissime   foedabat) 

per  directorem  et  magistros  univcrsitatis  ejectus,  in  quo  paucissimis  concurrentibus 

ejusdem,  qui  a  modo  certo  numero  non  extraneis,  ex  aliquibus  qui  affuerant  Ital- 


JOHN    XXIII.  91 

find  in  a  letter  by  Nicholas  of  Clemangis,  a  man  whose  authority  can 
generally  be  relied  upon,  a  story,  which,  if  not  literally  true,  yet 
serves  to  mark  the  aspect  in  which  such  a  council  under  such  a  pope 
must  needs  have  presented  itself  to  contemporaries.  At  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  missa  spiritus  sancti  previous  to  the  opening  of  this  coun- 
cil, when  the  Veni  Creator  spiritus  was  sung  according  to  the  usual 
custom,  an  owl  flew  suddenly,  with  a  startling  hoot,  into  the  middle  of 
the  church,  and  perching  itself  upon  a  beam  opposite  the  pope,  stared 
him  steadily  in  the  face,  at  which  the  prelates  whispered  round:  "Be- 
hold yonder  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  shape  of  an  owl !  "  The  pope 
seemed  greatly  embarrassed  and  annoyed.  First,  he  turned  pale , 
then  red ;  and,  finally,  had  no  other  way  of  helping  the  matter  but  by 
dissolving  the  meeting.1  The  story,  to  be  sure,  is  not  literally  correct, 
as  here  related ;  but  it  is  instructive  to  learn,  from  an  eye-witness, 
the  real  fact  upon  which  this  story  Avas  founded.  Theodoric  of  Niem 
relates,  that  once,  on  the  festival  of  Whitsuntide,  while  the  pope  was 
holding  divine  service  in  his  chapel,  during  the  chant  of  the  Veni 
Creator  spiritus,  an  owl  flew  into  the  chapel ;  and  this  was  considered 
in  Rome  a  bad  omen.2  Such  was  the  foundation  of  the  story.  What 
Theodoric  of  Niem,  an  eye-witness,  and  an  altogether  trustworthy 
reporter,  relates  in  so  simple  a  way,  did  undoubtedly  happen ;  just  as 
elsewhere  in  history,  incidents  not  without  symbolical  significance 
and  prophetic  truth,  do  actually  occur,  though  a  vulgar  spirit  of  ana- 
lysis, whose  bent  is  to  trivialize  all  historical  facts,  vainly  attempts  to 
deny  it.  Not  without  good  reason  did  this  incident  leave  a  singularly 
strong  impression  on  the  minds  of  many  living  in  those  times.  They 
might  well  look  upon  it  as  something  ominous.  In  this  way  it  came 
about  that  the  fact  was  transferred  to  that  hypocritical  farce  of  the 
self-called  reformatory  council,  whose  character  it  so  well  befitted  ; 
and  the  incident  was  shaped  by  the  imagination  into  the  form  of  a 
miraculous  event. 

Meantime  the  university  of  Paris  had  been  zealously  engaged  in 
preparing  for  a  reformation  of  the  church.  Soon  after  the  close  of 
the  council  at  Pisa,  and  the  election  of  Alexander  V.,  Gerson  deliver- 
ed, before  the  king  of  France,  in  the  name  of  the  university,  a  dis- 
course of  great  weight,  as  containing  the  exposition  of  its  principles. 
It  was  not  as  yet  understood,  for  so  we  may  gather  from  Gerson's 
discourse,  that  all  hopes  of  removing  the  schism  were  to  be  again 
disappointed,  and  that  the  evil  must  go  on  increasing.  Gerson  had 
fixed  his  hopes  upon  the  council  announced  beforehand,  which  was  to 
meet  after  three  years.  "All  well-disposed  persons  —  says  he  — 
ought  to  labor  with  the  fact  full  in  view  that  after  three  years  this 

icis  ac  curialibus,  sessiones  aliquot  tenuit,  nes  in  capella  raajori  sui  palatii,  prope 

in  rebus  supervacuis  nihilque  ad  utilitatem  Basilicam  S.  Petri,  ut  moris  est,  celebra- 

ecelesiae    pertinentibus,   tempus   tercndo,  ret,  dum  inciperetur  hymnus  Veni  creator 

consumptaa      Super  materia  coneilii  ge-  spiritus,  ilico  adfuit  ct  volavit  illic  in  alto 

ikt.  ]i.  75.  bubo  scu  noctua.  Theodorici  de  Niem  de 

'  IUid.  vita  ac    fatis  Constantiensibus  Johannis 

-  Quia  dum  quadam  vice,  in  festo  Pen-  XXIII. bei  Ilenn.  v.  d.  Hardt.  II.  p.  375. 
tecostes,  dictus  Balthasar  vesperaa  solem- 


92  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

council  is  to  assemble.1  "  Already  he  meditated  far-reaching  plans, 
embracing  more  than  simply  the  reformation  of  the  Western  church. 
The  prospect  opened  before  him  of  a  restoration  of  church  concord 
which  should  unite  in  one  the  churches  of  the  West  and  of  the  East. 
The  best  of  opportunities,  as  he  supposed,  were  now  present  for  bring- 
ing about  a  union  with  the  Greeks,  inasmuch  as  they  now  had  for  pope 
a  learned  man  of  this  nation,  who  had  himself  visited  the  East  as 
papal  legate.2  And  the  impending  council  seemed  to  him  to  be  pecu- 
liarly fitted  to  prepare  the  way  for  such  a  union :  since  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  the  Greeks  also  would  be  induced  to  send  delegates  to 
it.  The  supposed  restoration  of  church  unity  at  the  council  of  Pisa, 
appeared  to  him  as  an  invitation  to  labor  more  earnestly  for  the  glori- 
fying of  the  church  ;  for  he  reckoned  to  this  the  doing  away  of  that 
ancient  schism.  And  that  the  former  had  been  successfully  accom- 
plished at  the  council  of  Pisa  appeared  to  him  as  a  sign  which  augured 
favorably  for  the  latter.3  Undoubtedly,  if  the  position  taken  by  the 
Parisian  theologians  could  possibly  have  gained  the  general  sanction, 
then  by  means  of  the  already  mentioned  distinction  between  the  neces- 
sary and  the  accidental,  the  mutable  and  the  immutable,  in  the  deter- 
minations and  ordinances  of  the  church,  the  business  of  bringing  about 
such  a  union  of  the  churches  would  have  been  very  much  facilitated. 
"  Men  should  not  "  —  said  he  —  "  feel  themselves  universally  bound, 
by  the  positive  determinations  of  the  popes,  to  recognize  and  hold  fast 
one  kind  of  church-governance  as  necessary,  in  things  which  had  no 
direct  concern  with  the  truths  of  evangelical  faith."  He  says  with 
good  reason,  This  consideration,  rightly  apprehended,  is  the  princi- 
pal key  to  the  effecting  of  a  union  between  Greeks  and  Latins ; 4  for 
they  differ  in  many  modes  and  ways  of  life  which  perhaps  would  not 
result  in  any  injury  to  the  divine  law.  We  should  in  all  such 
things  follow  the  principle  of  Augustin,  that  national  customs  ought 
invariably  to  be  respected.  Among  such  unimportant  differences  he 
reckoned  the  distinction  with  regard  to  the  use  of  leavened  or  unleav- 
ened bread.  The  Greeks,  he  thinks,  would  fall  into  an  error  of  faith, 
only  in  case  they  should  maintain,  that  .the  first  gospels  had  reported 
what  was  untrue  in  their  account  of  the  time  of  the  paschal  supper. 
Among  these  he  reckoned  also  the  marriage  of  priests  among  the 
Greeks,  and  several  other  things.  According  to  the  same  principle 
of  a  manifold  variety  perfectly  consistent  with  the  essential  unity  of 
the  church,  in  the  particular  church  institutions,  he  requires  also  the 
reestablishment  of  the  liberties  of  the  Gallican  church,  in  spite  of  the 
contradiction  of  the  Roman  curialists.  It  is  remarkable  that  Gerson, 
while  he  maintained  the  necessity  of  agreement  in  the  truths  of  faith 
to  the  neglect  of  subordinate  differences  which  might  exist  without 
injury  to  the  former,  impugns  as  a  vulgar  error  the  opinion,  that  every 
man  may  be  saved  in  his  own  particular  religion.5     We  may  doubtless 

1  Sermo  coram  rege,  XII,  consideratio.        4  P.  148. 

Opp.  torn.  II,  p.  152  C.  '  Et  dicere  cont'rarium  est  error  com- 

2  P.  144.  A.  munis,  quod  unusquisque  sit  salvatus  iu 

3  P.  149.  secta  sua.    P.  146  C. 


GERSON. — D'AILLY. — PARIS   UNIVERSITY.  93 

infer  from  this,  that  the  corruption  of  the  church,  which  allowed  so 
little  to  be  known  of  the  practical  influence  of  the  truths  of  faith,  had 
already  led  many  to  hold  these  truths  themselves  as  of  little  practical 
account,  Gerson  signahzes  as  opposite  errors,  the  assertion  of  Marsi- 
lius  of  Padua  and  of  Wickliff,  that  the  pope  ought  not  to  have  secular 
•,  roperty,  nor  secular  rule,  and  the  principle  expressed  by  Boniface 
VIII.,  that  to  the  one  spiritual  power  of  the  pope,  all  secular  author- 
ity must  be  subjected.1  Much  as  Gerson  was  disposed  to  allow  a 
certain  degree  of  freedom  to  church  development,  yet  he  could  not 
tolerate  the  idea,  that  this  freedom  should  pass  beyond  the  limits  of 
such  a  uniformity  of  doctrine,  as  had  shaped  itself  into  a  system 
among  the  theologians  of  the  university  of  Paris.  The  Parisian  theo- 
logy was  to  constitute  a  legislative  power  for  all  theological  develop- 
ment, so  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  all  revolution.  This  explains 
the  conduct  of  Gerson  in  opposing  the  freer  movement  which  proceed- 
ed from  Bohemia.  He  cites  the  remarkable  words  of  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  respecting  the  mutual  relation 
of  the  theological  tendencies  of  those  times  at  Oxford  and  at  Paris. 
"  We  have,  in  England,  men  of  finer  imagination  ;  but  the  Parisians 
have  a  true,  solid  and  safe  theology."  2  At  this  time,  the  university 
of  Paris  supposed  that,  from  the  foundation  which  had  been  laid  at 
the  council  of  Pisa,  the  restoration  of  church  unity  must  go  every- 
where into  effect.  Alexander  V.  appeared  as  the  sole  legitimate  pope ; 
and  Gerson  proposed,  that  the  other  princes  and  nations  should  also 
be  prevailed  upon,  by  negotiation,  to  recognize  him  as  such.  The 
corruption  of  the  church,  and  the  longing  after  and  the  presentiment 
of  its  renovation,  called  forth  in  different  countries,  and  in  the  case  of 
different  men,  and  in  different  forms  —  as,  for  example,  in  Bohemia, 
in  the  case  of  John  Miliz,  in  the  case  of  Matthias  of  Janow,  and  as  we 
see  also  in  France,  in  the  case  of  Nicholas  of  Clemangis  and  Gerson, 
—  the  expectation  of  the  near-approaching  destruction  of  the  world. 
Yet  even  in  regard  to  this  matter  again,  the  sober,  intellectual  spirit 
of  Gerson  clearly  manifests  itself.  He  says :  "  But  who  knows 
whether  it  is  not  God's  will,  that  the  end  of  the  world  should  draw 
nigh,  and  that  all  should  betake  themselves  to  the  one  Christian  faith, 
and  to  that  common  union,  which  must  precede  the  end  of  the  world, 
though  I  announce  nothing  as  certain,  and  prophesy  nothing  about 
what  may  be  expected,  when  God  would  not  reveal  this,  his  own 
secret,  to  Apostles  and  Prophets  !  3  " 

The  expectations  which  were  cherished  when  Gerson  delivered  his 
discourse  in  the  name  of  the  Paris  University,  were  destined  soon  to 
be  disappointed.  It  could  not  fail  to  be  very  soon  known  how  egre- 
giously  men  had  been  mistaken,  when  the  events  which  we  have  de- 
scribed took  place.  How  much  could  be  learned  from  the  experience 
of  a  few  years  !  Nor  did  the  instructive  lesson  pass  unheeded.  In  vain 
had  John  XXIII.  tried  to  conciliate  the  University  of  Paris  by  pri- 

1  1'.  1 47  B.  habent  solidam  et  securam  theologiam.  P. 

-  Habemua  in  Anglia  viros  subtiliores     149  E. 
in  iinaginationibus,  sod  Parisienses  vcram         3  P.  152  A. 


94  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

vate  benefits.  In  vain  had  he  tried  to  draw  over  to  his  interest  such  a 
man  as  d'Ailly.  The  men  who  had  labored  most  to  bring  about  the 
meeting  of  a  general  council  at  Pisa,  were  the  men  who  labored  also 
most  zealously  to  arrange  matters  so  that  another  council  might  effect 
what  this  council  had  failed  to  accomplish.  Cardinal  d'Ailly,  to  guard 
against  the  danger  of  again  falling  into  the  same  mistakes,  presented 
to  view,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  his  disciple  Gerson,  the  difficulties  ly- 
ing in  the  way  of  a  restoration  of  unity  and  of  a  reformation  of  the 
church  by  a  general  council.1  If,  says  he,  a  new  general  council 
should  actually  be  convened,  of  what  use  would  it  be  ?  Suppose  even, 
that  all  three  of  the  popes  should  abdicate  of  their  own  accord,  or  else 
be  forced  to  leave  their  places  ;  and  instead  of  them,  a  new  one  should 
be  elected,  as  at  Pisa  ;  yet  the  cardinals  would  again  take  the  choice 
into  their  own  hands,  and  they  would  again  choose  a  man  out  of  their 
own  body,  who  would  be  no  better  than  the  former  ones.  And  thus 
the  old  mischief  will  go  on  as  long  as  the  cardinals  remain  the  same. 
But  suppose  the  council  should  light  upon  some  other  method  of  elec- 
tion, and  the  choice  should  fall  upon  a  man  of  an  altogether  different 
stamp  from  the  earlier  ones  ;  then  the  cardinals  would,  without  doubt, 
refuse  to  acknowledge  a  person  so  entirely  different  from  themselves, 
and  some  new  and  worse  division  would  grow  out  of  this.  Thus  a  com- 
plication of  difficulties  meets  us  on  all  sides.  He  points  to  the  council 
of  Pisa  as  a  warning  example.  Although  the  cardinals  had  in  their  let- 
ters, sent  forth  in  all  directions,  promised  a  council  for  the  reformation 
of  the  church  in  its  head  and  members,  yet  they  had  chosen  out  of  their 
body  Alexander  Y.,  who,  although  a  great  theologian,  yet  was  wholly 
inexperienced  in  the  things  belonging  to  his  office  ;  and  what  the  car- 
dinals required  of  him  he  had  conceded  without  demur,  and  without 
daring  to  refuse  anything.  Hence  they  had  overwhelmed  him  with 
one  new  demand  after  another,  and  could  never  have  enough. 

Upon  this,  chancellor  Gerson  composed  his  Treatise  on  the  mode  in 
which  the  unity  of  the  church  should  be  restored  and  its  reformation 
brought  about  at  a  council  ;  2  where  he  endeavored  to  point  out  how 
the  difficulties  and  hindrances  presented  to  view  by  d'Ailly,  could  be 
met  and  disposed  of.  Gerson  proceeds  on  the  principle,  ever  main- 
tained by  him,  that  all  positive  laws  must  yield  to  the  greatest  good  of 
the  whole  — »■  the  power  as  well  of  the  civil  magistrate  as  of  the  head 
of  the  church,  was  conditioned  on  this.  If  kings  by  the  law  of  inherit- 
ance could  be  deposed  where  the  good  of  the  state  required  it ;  how 
much  more  should  popes,  created  such  by  election,  be  liable  to  ejec- 
tion from  office,  when  the  good  of  the  church  required  it  ?  On 
this  point,  Gerson  expresses  himself  in  a  way  deserving  of  notice : 
"Will  it  be  said  that  a  pope,  whose  father  and  grandfather  before  him 
hardly  got  beans  enough  perhaps  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger, 
that  the  son  of  some  Venetian  fisherman,  must  maintain  the  papal  dig- 
nity to  the  hurt  of  the  entire  commonwealth  of  the  church,  and  with 

1  De  difficultate  reformationis   in  con-        2  De  modis  uniendi  ac  refovmandi  ec- 
cilio  universali.     Opp.  Gerson.  torn.  II,  p.     clesiam.  P.  162. 

867 


GERSON    DE    MODIS    UNIENDI.  95 

■wrong  to  so  many  princes  and  prelates  ?  For  the  sake  of  this,  mu 
much  ruin  accrue  to  the  souls  of  men?  Look  —  Bajs  he  —  a  pope 
is  a  man,  descended  from  men,  earth  from  earth,  a  sinner  and  subject 
to  sin,  the  son  of  a  poor  peasant  a  few  days  ago ;  he  is  exalted  to  the 
papal  chair.  Docs  such  an  one  become  a  sinless  man,  a  saint,  without 
the  least  repentance  for  his  sins,  without  confessing  them,  without  con- 
trition of  heart?  Who  has  made  him  a  saint  ?  Not  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
for  it  is  not  dignity  of  station  that  brings  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  but  the  grace  of  God  and  love  ;  not  the  authority  of  the  office, 
for  it  may  be  enjoyed  by  bad  men  as  well  as  good."  The  popes  might,  as 
history  taught,  fall  into  precisely  the  same  sins  with  those  who  are  not 
priests.  "  We  see  —  says  he  —  as  clear  as  noon-day,  that  the  actions  of 
modern  prelates  and  priests  are  not  of  a  spiritual  kind,  but  secular  and 
fleshly."  The  higher  the  position  held  by  the  pope,  the  more  bound 
was  he  to  observe  the  law  of  Christ.1  Were  there  actually  a  universalby- 
acknowledged  pope,  it  would  be  his  duty  to  use  every  means  for  re- 
storing peace  to  the  church,  even  to  the  laying  down  of  his  own  office. 
Where,  then,  there  were  three,  quarrelling  with  one  another  for  the 
papacy,  they  were  bound  to  renounce  their  arrogated  rights.  As  the 
church  of  Christ  is  clearly  manifested  to  be  one,  so  there  should  be  but 
one  pope,  recognized  by  all  and  manifest  to  all.  But  how  could  this 
be  so,  when  two  or  three  are  quarrelling  with  one  another  about  the  pa- 
pacy, as  if  they  were  contending  for  the  eternal  inheritance  ?  Pie  cites, 
as  opposed  to  this,  the  words  of  Christ  to  the  apostles,  Luke  22:  25. 
In  the  next  place,  it  was  evident  that  Christ  gave  no  greater  power  to 
Peter  than  he  himself  exercised  while  on  earth.  The  pope,  therefore, 
had  no  other  to  administer.  Why  presume,  then,  to  contend  for  that 
which  does  not  belong  to  him  ?  Nor  was  it  to  be  believed  that,  if  Paul 
had  said  to  Peter,  thou  art  not  pope  or  Roman  bishop  ;  thou  art  only 
bishop  of  Antioch,  but  I  am  bishop  of  the  Roman  church,  he  would 
have  contended  with  Paul  or  any  other  man  saying  the  same,  about 
the  papacy  ;  but  would  simply  have  said,  I  bid  you  God-speed  ;  rule 
in  the  name  of  God,  as  that  is  what  you  seek.  "  See  then,  ye  believers 
—  says  he  —  that  if  we  obey  those  who  are  thus  contending  with  each 
other  and  rending  in  pieces  the  church,  we  grievously  sin.  Long  ere 
this,  would  they  have  quitted  the  grasp  of  their  tyrannical  rule,  had 
you  not  indulged  them  with  your  obedience." 

But  in  holding  fast  to  the  abstract  notion  alone,  that  all  else  must 
give  place  to  the  greatest  good  of  the  church,  Gerson  was  driven  into 
principles  contrary  to  good  morals,  and  allowed  that  the  end  sanctifies 
the  means.  For  he  says,  "  If  those  two  or  three  will  not  yield,  it  re- 
mains only  to  resort  to»  stronger  measures  ;  to  depose  them  and  expel 
them  from  the  communion  of  the  church  ;  to  subtract  our  obedience  to 
them.  But  still  if  by  these  means  the  highest  interest  of  the  church  can- 

1  Item  papa  non  est  supra  dei  evangc-  manclato  Christi.      Imo   tanto  magis   ad 

lium,  quod  sic  ejus  auctoritas  esset  major  ipsum  servandum  obligator, quanta  magis 

aactoritate  Christi,  ncc  tunc  ejus  potestas  est  in  dignitate  et  perfection  statu  consti- 

derivaretur  a  Christo :  subjieitur  ergo   ut  tutus.  P.  167  C. 
alter  Christianus  in  omnibus  praeccpto  et 


96  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

not  be  promoted,  then  we  must  bring  about  the  holy  concord  of  the 
church  by  cunning,  by  fraud,  by  force  of  arms,  by  promises,  by  pres- 
ents, and  money  ;  finally,  by  resorting  to  imprisonment  and  the  taking 
of  life,  or  by  any  other  means  whatever  whereby  the  unity  of  the  church 
can  be  promoted."     In  inviting  men  to  renounce  their  obedience  to 
popes  who  gave  scandal  to  the  entire  church,  he  says  :  "  For  if  we 
suppose  the  case,  that  the  universal  church,  whose  head  is  Christ,  had 
no  pope  ;  still  a  believer,  who  should  depart  from  the  world  in  charity, 
would   be   saved  ;  for  when  two  or  three  individuals  are  contending 
with  each  other  about  the  papacy,  and  the  truth  on  this  matter  is  not 
known  to  the  universal  church  ;l  the  fact  that  this  or  that  individual  is 
pope  cannot  be  an  article  of  faith,  nor  can   anything  depend  upon  it, 
nor  any  Christian  be  bound  to  believe  it.    And  for  this  reason  the  apos- 
tles, in  drawing  up  the  creed,  did  not  say  :  I  believe  in  the  pope,  or  in 
the  vicar  of  Christ ;  for  the  common  faith  of  Christians  does  not  repose 
upon  the   pope,  who  is  but  a  single  person,  and  may  err  ;    but  they 
said  :  I   believe  in  one  holy,  catholic  church.      He   distinguishes  the 
outward  apostolic  church,  to  which  even  wicked  men  might  belong, 
from  the  catholic  church  as  the  community  of  saints.    How  could  popes, 
then,  belong  to  this  latter  church,  who,  for  the  sake  of  their  own  pri- 
vate advantage,  were  contending  for  the  papacy,  and  lived  in  the  con- 
dition of  mortal  sin  ?     He   starts  the  objection  :  "  Should  the  legiti- 
mate pope  John  convoke  the  council,  and  choose  to  preside  over  it, 
who  would  venture  to  oppose  his  will  ?     Who  would  venture   to  seek 
the   greatest  good  of  the   church  ?"     As  the  popes  had  already,  by 
their  special  and  general  reservations,  robbed  the  universal  church, 
laid  waste  the  monasteries,  invented   a  thousand  ways  of  bestowing 
benefices  and  getting  money  ;  so  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  a  man 
who  would  be  inclined  to  give  up  so  gainful  a  papacy  and  give  peace 
to  the  universal  church.     But  suppose  the  pope  not  to  be  serious  in 
convoking  the  council  ;  then,  on  the  penalty  of  incurring  a  mortal  sin, 
the  prelates  with  the  princes  were  bound  to  convoke  it  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible ;  to  cite  before  it  the  pope  and  those  contending  with  him  about 
the  papacy,  and  if  they  refused  to  appear,  to  depose  them.     But  sup- 
pose the  pope  should  convoke  the   council,  but   not   in    a   safe  place. 
Christians  were  not  bound  to  go  there.     But  suppose  the  place  were 
safe,  yet  subject  to  the  pope's  dominion,  so  that  there  could  be  no  lib- 
erty of  speech  there.    Christians,  who  are  no  longer  servants  of  the  law, 
but  free  sons  of  grace,  were  not  bound  to  appear  there.     Whenever, 
then,  the  question  on  hand  related  to  the  deposing  of  the  pope  or  to  a 
censure  of  his  conduct,  or  a  limitation  of  his  power,  it  noways  belonged 
to  him  to  convoke  the  general  council,  but  to  the  prelates,  the  cardi- 
nals, bishops,  and  secular  rulers  ;  but  where  the  question  on  hand  re- 
lated to  the  reformation  of  a  province  or  a  kingdom,  to  the  extirpation 
of  heresies,  the  defence  of  the  faith,  then  it  was  the  business  of  the 

1  Quod  si  nee  isto  mode-  poterit  eccle-  eonvenit  sanctissimam  unionem  ecclesiae, 

sia  piolicere,  tunc  dolis,  fiaudibus,  armis,  et  conjunctionem quomodolibet  procurare. 

violentia,  potentia,  promissionibus,  donis  P.  170  D. 
et  pecuniis,   tandem  carceribus,  mortibus 


GERSON   DE  MODIS   UNIENDI.  97 

pope  and  his  cardinals  to  convoke  the  council.'  It  appeared  to  him 
the  only  means  for  deliverance,  that  the  emperor  should  convoke  the 
council,  and,  as  defender  of  the  faith,  preside  over  it,  and  find  some 
method  of  restoring  again  the  flock  of  Christ.2  D'Ailly  had  made  the 
objection  that  the  next  council,  inasmuch  as  it  was  but  a  continuation 
of  the  council  of  Pisa,  would  bring  nothing  better  to  pass.  To  this 
Gerson  replies,  There  can  be  nothing  so  good  but  that  there  may  be 
something  still  better.  Since  then  the  new  council  may  do  something 
still  better  than  the  first,  where,  according  to  the  opinion  of  all,  a  certain 
over-hastiness  prevailed,  and  where  everything  had  been  done  with 
heat  and  precipitancy  and  not  with  due  deliberation,  so  that  in  truth 
it  had  not  answered  its  end,  of  restoring  unity  to  the  church  and  bring- 
ing all  under  one  pope  ;  and  since  too  many  foreign  matters  had  been 
introduced  at  that  time  ;  so  the  future  council  might  possibly  prove  to 
be  a  holier  and  more  perfect  one.3  Although  Gerson  acknowledged 
the  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  laws,  to  render  them  more  conformable 
to  the  times,  still  he  would  not  concede  to  the  pope  the  right  of  dis- 
pensing with  any  laws  enacted  by  a  council,  or  of  making  any  modifi- 
cations in  them.  He  well  understood  how  everything  would  thus  be 
unsettled  again.  Such  power  ought  not  to  be  entrusted  to  any  single 
man :  it  should  be  reserved  to  another  general  council. <  He  then 
complains  of  the  arbitrary  deviations  from  laws  enacted  by  the  older 
councils,  laws  which  had  become  almost  a  matter  of  ridicule.  The 
most  wanton  extortions  in  filling  up  church  offices,  had  proceeded 
from  the  court  at  Avignon,  because  none  of  the  cardinals  were  able 
to  keep  up  royal  state,  unless  daily  sustained  by  supplies  flowing  to 
them  from  all  quarters  through  such  modes  of  gain.  And  when  that 
new  union,  which  he  calls  a  talis  qualis,  was  brought  about  at  Pi- 
sa, the  extortions  had  been  carried  to  a  still  greater  extents  He  pro- 
poses that  a  new  council  should  be  held  every  five  or  six  years,  where 
a  more  complete  reformation  in  all  things  might  be  carried  through.6 

Gerson  says,7  "  Because  the  prelates  of  our  time  are  dumb  do,i-s, 
these  mischievous  constitutions  and  reservations  have  taken  the  place 
of  rights  and  laws ;  so  that  it  is  frightful  to  recount  the  number  of 
evils  which  have  thereby  been  occasioned ;  as  for  example  that  the 
intimates  of  the  cardinals,  occasionally  murderers,  ignorant  men,  cooks, 
grooms,  mule-drivers,  may  obtain  canonicates  in  cathedral  churches ; 
while  those  who  have  obtained  a  degree  in  any  of  the  faculties  can 
not  get  at  them."  D'Ailly  had  suggested  the  query,  as  to  what  should 
be  done  in  case  the  pope  with  his  cardinals  persisted  in  clinging  to  the 
old  corruptions,  and  gave  themselves  no  concern  about  any  of  the 
laws  enacted  by  the  council ;  to  which  Gerson  replies  :  "As  those 
priests  of  Baal,  who  themselves  devoured  the  offerings  presented  to 
Baal,  and  told  the  people  on  the  next  day  that  Baal  had  devoured 
them,  and  were  all  destroyed  when  the  cheat  came  to  be  exposed,  so 
was  it  with  those  high  priests  who  lied  to  God  and  men  with  indul- 

1  P.  172.  3  P.  186  C.         «  P.  182  D.        6  P.  185  A. 

8  P.  179  C  •  P.  170  A.        7  P.  194  A. 

VOL.  V.  9 


98  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

gences,  dispensations,  and  blessings,  who  preached  much  falsehood, 
calling  good  evil,  and  evil  good.  If  these  were  not  wholly  extirpated, 
so  that  pope  Boniface's  plantation^  which  God  had  not  planted,  should 
be  destroyed  and  utterly  banished  from  human  society,  he  feared  the 
church  would  never  be  reformed  in  the  head  and  members,  but  that 
extortions  would  continually  rise  in  enormity,  till  the  pope  and  cardi- 
nals got  into  their  hands  all  the  property  in  the  world  ;  and  then  there 
would  be  no  apostolical  chair,  but  only  an  apostatical  one  ;  no  divine 
see,  but  a  seat  of  Satan,  on  which  no  man  ought  to  sit,  but  from  which 
every  man  should  recoil.  No  prelate,1  when  the  reservations  and  va- 
luations of  the  benefices  were  made,  having  shown  the  least  opposition, 
either  from  weakness  or  ignorance  or  a  regard  to  their  own  advantage, 
the  pope  and  cardinals  had,  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  declared  that 
those  reservations  had  obtained  the  validity  of  law  ;  and  that  a  gene- 
ral council  could  not  alter  them ;  which  was  false.  No.  Let  the 
prelates  rise  up,  let  them  present  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  righteous- 
ness, and  let  them  try  to  banish  forever  those  robberies  by  the  Roman 
chancery  ;  for  such  things  could  not  be  prescribed  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  church,  things  that  conflicted  with  its  very  being.  To  get  hold  of 
this  money  from  the  benefices,  thousands  of  officials  had  been  appoint- 
ed at  the  Roman  court,  and  perhaps  not  one  could  be  found  among 
them  all  who  was  there  for  the  promotion  of  virtue.  "  There  —  says 
he  —  the  daily  talk  is  of  castles,  of  territorial  domains,  of  the  different 
kinds  of  weapons,  of  gold  ;  but  seldom  or  never  of  chastity,  alms, 
righteousness,  faith,  or  holy  manners ;  so  that  the  court,  once  a  spirit- 
ual one.  has  become  a  secular,  devilish,  tyrannical  court,  and  worse 
in  manners  and  civil  transactions  than  any  other."  How  can  the 
pope  —  says  he  3  —  be  servant  of  the  servants  of  God  on  earth,  when 
he  is  more  ready  to  please  princes,  kings,  and  tyrants,  than  God  and 
his  saints  ?  Were  the  pope,  indeed,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God, 
as  he  styles  himself  in  the  beginning  of  his  bulls,  he  would  obey  and 
serve  the  poor  who  are  God's  servants,  or  at  least  show  care  for  them 
by  works  of  mercy.  "  But  where  will  you  find  charity  in  a  pope  ?  " 
He  complains  that  no  poor,  no  pious  man,  seeking  help  in  spiritual  or 
bodily  distress,  could  be  admitted  into  the  papal  palace.  You  may, 
indeed,  see  soldiers  and  tyrants  decked  in  purple  go  in  to  him ;  but 
never  an  ill-clad,  poor  man,  though  he  may  be  learned  and  conscien- 
tious. He  is  no  longer  "  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,"  but  rather, 
"  John,  the  lord  of  lords."  When  tyrannical  princes,  men  of  bad  lives, 
oppressors  of  the  church,  apply  to  the  pope  with  their  petitions  for 
some  castle  or  other,  or  to  obtain  a  beneficium,  or  a  bishopric  for  their 
favorites,  the  petitions  of  such  are  sooner  listened  to  than  those  of 
better  princes." 4  The  power,  he  affirmed,  did  not  belong  to  the 
pope,  which  was  commonly  ascribed  to  him,  of  binding  in  heaven  and 
on  earth ; 5  all  that  had  been  given  him  was  the  power  of  announcing 
and  of  absolving  in  spiritual  things.  He  did  but  announce  that  he 
whom  he  absolved  was  absolved,  he  whom  he  bound  was  bound  in  the 

1  P.  194  C.  2  P.  184  B.  3  P.  197  C. 

4  P.  197  A.  6  P.  198  A. 


GERSON   DE  MODIS   UNIENDI.  99 

church.  Not  the  pope,  but  God  only  could  forgive  sins.  If  it  should 
be  asked,  to  what  end  was  the  convocation  of  such  a  general  council, 
the  answer  was,  that  it  was  called  more  particularly  for  two  objects  ; 
first,  the  union  of  the  church  under  one  head ;  secondly,  union  in  the 
customs  and  laws  of  the  primitive  church.  And  if  it  should  be  object- 
ed, that  the  means  were  doubtful,  and  therefore  unsafe,  especially  as 
there  was  already  a  pope  ; ]  to  this  he  replied,  that  although  we  have, 
according  to  right,  but  one  pope,  yet  in  point  of  fact  there  are  two 
others  besides.  Let  there  be  assembled,  then,  a  council  to  carry  out 
what  was  resolved  upon  at  the  council  of  Pisa,  or,  if  this  could  not  be 
done,  as  was  probable,  and  if  the  two  other  popes  were  ready  to 
appear  at  a  general  council,  and  to  abdicate  there,  in  case  John  XXIII. 
would  do  the  same,  then  the  latter  was  bound,  if  a  deliverance  of  the 
church  was  in  no  other  way  possible,  to  give  up  willingly  for  this  ob- 
ject even  more  than  a  papacy,  so  that  the  whole  christian  common- 
wealth might  not,  for  the  sake  of  one  individual  who  was  a  sinner  and 
neither  exemplary  nor  virtuous,  be  brought  to  destruction.  Were 
he  a  virtuous  man,  he  would  follow  the  example  of  Christ,  who  came 
not  to  do  his  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  him.  He  would 
submit  to  the  will  of  the  whole  church  and  lay  down  his  papacy,  if  He 
required  him  to  do  so.  Even  though  there  were  a  true,  undoubted, 
and  universally  acknowledged  pope,  he  would  be  necessitated  to  do 
this  by  the  demand  of  a  general  council,  in  case  the  church  could  not 
otherwise  be  helped ;  and  to  obey  without  contradiction  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  that  general  council.  D'Ailly  had  presented  the  objection, 
that  in  case  of  a  vacancy  of  the  imperial  throne,  and  a  contention 
among  the  elector-princes,  obeying  different  popes,  a  convocation  of 
the  council  from  such  a  quarter  could  not  be  made ;  to  which  Gerson  ? 
replies :  if  this  could  not  be  done,  then  the  convocation  of  the  council 
would  devolve,  first,  on  other  princes ;  next,  on  other  societies  and 
secular  lords ;  then  on  citizens  of  the  towns  and  peasants,  and  even 
down  to  the  poorest  old  woman  ;  for  as  the  church  might  consist  even 
of  the  poorest  old  woman,  as  for  example,  at  the  death  of  Christ, 
when  the  virgin  Mary  only  remained,  —  so  by  such  an  one  a  general 
council  could  be  called  for  the  deliverance  of  the  church.  Further- 
more, D'Ailly  had  made  the  objection,  that  a  newly  elected  emperor 
was  bound  by  the  oath  given  to  his  pope.  To  this  Gerson  replies  :  J 
no  oath  can  be  binding  to  the  prejudice  of  the  universal  church.  He 
cites,  fur  illustration,  the  case  of  a  monarch,  cruel  and  ferocious  to  his 
people  ;  in  such  a  case  the  people  were  no  longer  bound  by  the  oath 
they  had  given  to  him,  but  the  subjects  were  made  judges  over  their 
master.4 

It  seems  to  Gerson5  desirable,  that  neither  of  the  popes,  nor  yet 
an)'  one  from  the  college  of  cardinals,  should  be  made  pope  ;  for,  as 
the  latter  were  inured  to  the  practice  of  the  old  abuses  and  extortions, 

1   1'.  181.                           2  P.  189  A.  ejus  subditi,  juramentum  homagii  et  fide- 

;f  1\  189  D.  litatis  olini  praestitum  ei  in  aliquo  obser- 

4  Sicut  si  rex  iniquus  in  populum  sibi  vare. 

Bubditum   vellet  desaevire,  non   tenentur  5  P.  195  B. 


100  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION". 

it  was  to  be  feared,  that  they  would  persist  in  them,  and  that  the  evil 
might  be  made  worse.  Therefore,  to  forefend  such  mischief,  a  deter- 
mination of  the  general  council  was  to  be  desired,  that  in  future  no 
person  should  be  chosen  pope  from  the  body  of  cardinals,  but  that  he 
should  be  chosen  from  the  several  provinces  and  kingdoms  according 
to  a  certain  order.  Then,  after  the  election  of  such  a  pope,  it  seems 
to  him  especially  requisite,  that  his  power  should  for  the  future  be 
limited,  as  the  pope  had  taken  many  rights  of  the  church  into  his  own 
hands. 

The  peace  between  the  pope  and  King  Ladislaus  did  not  last  long. 
The  latter  suddenly  attacked  the  pope's  residence.  So  extremely 
odious  had  the  latter  rendered  himself  at  Rome,  that  Ladislaus  found 
little  difficulty  in  making  himself  master  of  the  city.  Pope  John  fled 
in  great  trepidation  on  horseback,  in  May  of  the  year  1413,  to  Flor- 
ence ;  thence  he  went  to  Bologna,  and  to  several  cities  of  Lombardy, 
and  had  an  interview  with  the  new  emperor  Sigismond,  who  had  been 
invited  by  all  the  well-disposed  to  effect  a  cure  of  the  corruption  and 
of  the  schism  in  the  church,  and  for  this  purpose  to  hasten  the  meet- 
ing of  a  general  council.  A  common  political  interest  joined  together 
the  pope  and  the  emperor  in  the  quarrel  with  King  Ladislaus.  Be- 
sides, the  pope  could  not  fail  to  understand,  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  any  longer  to  succeed  in  eluding  the  general  desire  after  a  re- 
formatory council.  He  consented  to  the  meeting  of  such  a  council. 
One  important  question  only  remained  to  be  decided,  —  that  of  the 
place  where  the  council  should  assemble.  Aretin,  the  pope's  secre- 
tary at  that  time,  relates,  that  the  pope,  before  sending  off  his  legates 
to  the  emperor,9  told  him  that  all  depended  on  the  place  of  the  coun- 
cil ;  he  would  not  go  to  a  spot  where  the  emperor  was  the  more 
powerful.  He  would,  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  give  his  legates 
ample  powers  to  treat  on  this  point,  with  the  emperor.  To  this  the 
ostensible  instruction  to  the  legates  should  relate.  But  he  would 
secretly  instruct  them  and  restrict  the  choice  to  a  few  cities  ;  and 
these  cities  he  named  to  Aretin.  But,  on  dismissing  his  legates,  it 
occurred  to  him  all  at  once,  that  he  would  trust  the  whole  matter  to 
their  hands.  He  said  he  would  leave  everything  to  their  discretion  ; 
and  in  proof  of  it,  he  tore  in  pieces  the  secret  instructions  which  he 
was  intending  to  give  them.  So  states  Aretin,  who  was  present 
during  these  secret  transactions  between  the  pope  and  his  legates.3 
The  legates,  bound  by  no  restrictions,  suffered  themselves  to  be  per- 
suaded by  the  emperor  to  accept  of  the  free  German  city  of  Constance 
as  the  place  for  the  meeting  of  the  council.  This  was,  to  be  sure, 
a  perilous  choice  to  the  interests  of  the  pope  ;  but  he  could  not  now 
recede  with  honor.  The  historian  Aretin,  in  relating  this,  adds  : 
"  None  can  resist  God's  will."  Meanwhile  King  Ladislaus  died. 
The  pope  was  urged  by  his  kinsmen  and  friends  to  return  to  Rome. 
They  augured  to  him  no  good  of  his  journey  to  Constance.     Gladly 

1  P.  201  A.  ital.  torn.  XIX,  p.  928  C.  3  Ibid.  D. 

8  Commentarius  in  Muratori  script  rer. 


PROCLAMATION  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE.      101 

would  he  have  returned  to  Rome,  instead  of  going  to  Constance. 
But  it  was  now  too  late  to  alter  the  thing  with  a  good  grace  ;  and  he 
still  indulged  a  hope  that  he  should,  as  he  had  often  done  before,  win 
the  victory  by  his  craftiness  and  his  money ;  and,  at  Bologna,  where 
he  finally  took  up  his  quarters,  he  provided  himself  with  a  sumptuous 
equipage,  with  which  he  intended  to  make  his  journey  to  Constance, 
and  by  which  he  hoped  to  make  a  great  impression  on  many.1  The 
pope  and  the  emperor  Sigismond  now  put  forth  in  common  their  pro- 
clamation for  a  council,  which  should  assemble  at  Constance,  in  No- 
vember of  the  year  1414,  for  the  restoration  of  unity  to  the  church, 
and  for  the  reformation  of  the  church  in  its  head  and  members. 

The  cardinal  D'Ailly  prepared  the  way  for  the  doings  of  the  coun- 
cil by  his  work  on  the  Necessity  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Church  to 
be  brought  about  by  the  council.2  He  pointed  it  out  as  the  first  thing 
to  be  done,  that  the  council  should  resolve  not  to  break  up  until  the 
choice  of  a  pope  recognized  by  all  Christendom,  should  be  effected. 
The  shortest  way  to  this,  in  his  opinion,  was,  that,  without  any  regard 
to  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Pisa,  the  three  popes  should  all  resign 
their  dignities.  If  this  were  done,  an  upright  man,  of  regular,  scien- 
tific education,  should  be  elected  by  twelve  prelates,  more  or  less,  who 
should  receive  full  powers  for  this  purpose  from  the  council,  with  the 
concurrence  of  the  cardinals.3  Moreover,  d'Ailly  maintains,  that  as  a 
king  who  abuses  his  power  may  be  dethroned  by  the  people,  for  whose 
greatest  good  he  is  there,  so  a  fortiori  this  could  be  done  in  the  case 
of  a  pope,  who  is  chosen  for  the  express  purpose  of  teaching  the  laws 
of  God.4  He  complains  of  the  great  state,  which  the  cardinals  thought 
it  necessary  to  display,  and  in  order  to  display  which  they  were  forced 
to  sequestrate  to  their  own  use  all  the  revenues  of  the  church.  "  For 
—  says  he 5  —  of  what  use  is  all  that  wonderful  pomp  ;  that  he  who 
to-day,  perhaps,  is  content  to  appear  publicly  as  the  humble  retainer 
of  a  clergyman,  to-morrow,  made  a  cardinal,  feels  as  if  the  world  was 
scarcely  enough  for  him,  and  appears  in  as  much  state  as  if  he  were 
leading  an  army  to  battle."  He  would  see  those  abuses  removed, 
that  cardinals  should  appropriate  to  themselves  archbishoprics,  bishop- 
rics, abbacies  ;  should  never  be  seen  by  their  dioceses,  but  cause  the 
functions  to  be  discharged  by  ignorant,  worthless  hirelings,  out  of  all 
which  grew  much  evil  to  the  church.  He  expresses  the  wish  that  the 
council  would  counteract  the  mischiefs  occasioned  by  the  suffragan 
bishops  in  Germany.  These,  having  obtained  their  offices  by  simony, 
were  accustomed  to  practise,  in  their  turn,  every  species  of  extortion 
on  the  clergy  and  the  people,  and  to  push  bargains  for  giving  ordina- 
tions. The  council  should  establish  certain  rules  against  these  mal- 
practices. He  thinks  that,  as  so  much  corruption  proceeded  from  the 
Roman  court,  this  should  first  be  reformed  :  that  those  who  made  a 
trade  of  spiritual  things,  and  the  instruments  of  simony,  should  be7 

1  Theod.  de  Niem  de  fatis  Joh.  XXIII,  ecclesiae  in  capiteet  in  membris.  In  tiers. 
c.  40,  1.  1.  p.  387.  opp.  II,  p.  885. 

1  Monita   de   necessitate  reformationis        *  P.  886.  4  P.  896. 

8  P.  888  D.   «  P.  892  D.     7  P.  898  C. 

9* 


102  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

utterly  thrust  out  from  that  court.  He  considers  it  as  a  consequence 
of  simony,  and  of  those  other  malpractices,  that  the  heresies  in  Bohe- 
mia and  Moravia  had  made  such  head-way.1  A  strenuous  effort  should 
be  made  to  banish  heresies  and  the  authors  of  them  from  Bohemia  and 
Moravia.  But  there  was  no  way  in  which  this  could  be  thoroughly 
done,  except  by  applying  some  remedy  to  the  evil  which  had  given 
occasion  for  all  attacks  upon  the  papacy,  namely,  the  coi-ruption  of  the 
Roman  court.  That  court  should  be  brought  back  to  its  ancient  good 
manners.2  The  same  d'Ailly  composed,  about  this  time,  two  letters 
addressed  to  Pope  John,s  relating  to  the  same  subject.  He  adverts 
in  them  to  certain  language  on  the  necessity  of  a  church  reformation, 
which  had  once  been  uttered  in  a  solemn  assembly  before  Pope  Urban 
V. "  He  deems  it  the  more  necessary  to  refer  to  this,  because  soon 
afterwards,  on  the  death  of  Gregory  XL,  the  schism,  under  the  effects 
of  which  they  were  now  suffering,  had  grown  out  of  the  corruptions  of 
the  church,  to  the  correction  of  which  this  language  had  reference. 
He  says : 4  "  Although  I  am  no  prophet,  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet, 
yet  I  venture  to  say,  without  asserting  anything  rash,  that  if  at  the 
next  council  means  are  not  found  to  remove  these  scandals,  by  the 
entire  healing  of  the  schism  and  by  the  reformation  of  so  corrupt  a 
church,  then  we  must  set  it  down  as  probable,  that  still  more  and 
greater  evils  will  ensue."  He  states  that  some  took  comfort  from  the 
fact  that  the  abbot  Bernard  and  others  had  found  it  necessary  to 
complain  of  the  corruption  of  the  church,  and  yet  its  downfall  did  not 
follow.  In  like  manner,  it  might  still  prolong  its  existence.  He 
affirms,  on  the  contrary,  that  when  the  measure  of  sins  is  filled  up, 
divine  judgment  will  interpose,  and  the  children  must  often  atone  for 
guilt  contracted  by  their  fathers.  Next  he  adverts  to  the  opinion  of 
those  inconsiderate  men,  from  whom  the  church  had  to  expect  the 
greatest  danger,  whose  motto  was,  Let  the  world  take  its  natural 
course,  and  who  looked  upon  everything  alike  with  the  same  indiffer- 
ence.5 Furthermore,  he  mentions  the  opinion  of  a  certain  class,  who 
held  the  evils  of  the  church  to  be  incurable,  and  supposed  that,  as  all 
kingdoms  have  had  their  end,  so  the  dominion  of  the  church  was  now, 
by  the  fault  of  its  presiding  officers,  hastening  to  its  decline  ;  in  con- 
tradiction to  which  he  says,  a  divine  judgment,  it  is  true,  may  be 
threatening  the  church ;  but  still,  should  an  improvement  of  manners 
take  place,  should  the  superfluous  pomp  of  the  prelates  be  moderated, 
should  men,  in  heart  and  deed,  repent  and  turn  to  God,  it  was  to  be 
hoped  that  God  would,  in  some  ineffable  way,  send  deliverance,  and 
stay  the  course  of  judgment. 

Although  Pope  John  relied  with  some  confidence  upon  the  influence 
of  his  wealth,  upon  the  great  number  of  prelates  devoted  to  him  or 
bound  up  in  his  interests,  and  upon  the  force  of  intrigue,  yet  it  was 
not  without  anxiety  that  he  set  out  upon  the  journey  to  Constance. 
On  his  way  through   Tyrol,  he  had  an  interview  with  Duke  Frederic 

1  P.  901  C-  2  P.  902  A.  cebant :    veniat    quod  poterit,   conforme- 

3  P.  876.  4  P.  880  A.  mus  nos   huic  saeculo  tempestivius.     P. 

s  Error  valde  perversus  eorura,  qui  di-     879  A. 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE.  103 

of  Austria,  wishing  to  take  advantage  of  the  bad  terras  on  which  the 
duke  stood  with  the  emperor  Sigismond,  the  zealous  promoter  of  church 
reform ;  and  he  made  the  duke  agree  that  in  case  the  pope  should 
not  find  himself  safe  in  Constance,  the  duke  should  afford  him  protec- 
tion in  his  neighboring  domain.  Thus  his  plan  was  already  laid.  It 
was  already  his  intention,  in  case  he  failed  of  carrying  out  his  schemes 
at  Constance,  to  try  the  experiment  of  making  his  escape  by  flight,  so 
as  to  break  up  the  council.  During  the  journey  the  pope's  carriage  was 
upset  in  the  snow.  This  was  looked  upon  by  himself  and  many  others 
as  a  bad  omen.  He  arrived  at  Constance  on  the  28th  of  October,  and 
after  several  adjournments  the  council  was  opened.  The  pope  was 
calculating  that  the  votes  would  be  taken  by  the  number  of  persons, 
and  was  therefore  hoping  to  carry  out  his  measures  by  the  major- 
ity of  single  votes,  particularly  from  the  Italian  nation,  upon  which  he 
might  depend.  But  his  designs  were  penetrated  and  defeated.  In 
a  proposition  relating  to  the  form  of  transacting  business,  the  fact  was 
noticed,  that  the  pope  had  on  his  side  a  majority  of  poor  prelates  be- 
longing to  the  Italians,  exceeding  the  number  of  deputies  present  from 
any  other  nation  ;  that  he  had  appointed  fifty  chamberlains  ;  that  by 
the  administration  of  various  oaths,  by  presents  or  by  threats  he  had 
secured  numbers  to  himself ;  so  that  by  the  majority  of  votes  he  could 
manage  all  matters  as  he  pleased.  To  guard  against  unfairness  from 
this  cause,  it  was  deemed  best  that  the  votes  should  be  taken  by  nations 
rather  than  by  persons.1  This  proposition  was  carried,  in  spite  of  all  the 
opposition  of  the  papal  party.  The  council  was  divided  for  the  present 
into  four  nations,  Italians,  French,  Germans,  and  English.  The  de- 
puties of  each  nation  held  their  separate  meetings,  and  whatever  was 
determined  upon  by  the  majority  in  these  meetings,  passed  as  the 
judgment  of  the  nation.  Then  the  committees  of  the  several  different 
nations  reported  their  separate  decrees  in  the  general  congregations 
of  the  deputies  of  all  the  four  nations,  and  whatever  was  decreed 
by  the  majority  of  the  four  votes  in  these  meetings  was  to  be  pro- 
claimed in  the  public  sessions  as  a  decree  of  the  council.  It  would 
be  important,  again,  for  the  interest  of  the  pope,  if  none  but  bishops 
and  abbots  were  allowed  a  definitive  vote  in  the  council.  Among 
these,  independent  thinkers  were  fewer  in  number  ;  among  the  titular- 
bishops  and  abbots  especially,  were  many  creatures  of  the  pope. 
But  it  was  endeavored  to  prevent  this  also.  Even  two  cardinals,  of 
whom  one  was  Cardinal  d'Ailly,  declared  in  the  discussions  on  this 
matter,  that  from  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  universities,  doc- 
tors of  theology,  doctors  of  the  canon  and  the  civil  law,  men  to  whom 
were  entrusted  the  office  of  teaching  and  preaching,  could  not  but 
have  more  weight  than  titular-bishops  and  abbots,  who  neither 
preached  nor  taught,  nor  had  any  cure  of  souls  ;  and  that  the  learn- 
ing of  the  former  must  be  set  as  a  make-weight  over  against  the  ad- 
vantage which  the  higher  but  ignorant  prelates  obtained  from  their 
authority.      In   deciding  on  matters  of   faith   especially,   theological 

1  V.  D.  Hardt.  torn.  II,  p.  230. 


104  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

learning  could  not  be  dispensed  with.  Furthermore,  inferior  ecclesi- 
astics who  exercised  the  office  of  preaching  and  had  the  cure  of  souls, 
had  a  better  right  to  join  in  the  discussion  of  purely  spiritual  matters, 
than  those  who  were  bishops  merely  by  title,  and  abbots.  Cardinal 
St.  MarCi  called  the  ignorant  prelates  mitred  asses.  It  was  remark- 
ed, in  the  next  place,  that  in  business  relating  to  the  extermination  of 
schism,  and  the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  church,  the  princes  and 
their  envoys  were  not  to  be  excluded  from  the  right  of  voting,  since 
the  matter  was  so  intimately  connected  with  the  interest  of  princes  and 
their  subjects.  Moreover,  their  assistance  was  required  to  execute 
the  decrees  of  the  council  on  these  matters.1  This  proposition  also 
was  adopted  ;  and  thus  the  most  free-minded,  sagacious,  and  indepen- 
dent men  obtained  great  influence  at  the  council,  an  influence  which 
the  pope  had  special  reason  to  dread.  The  prelates  devoted  to  the 
pope  demanded,  that  the  first  business  to  be  attended  to  should  be  the 
confirmation  of  the  council  of  Pisa ;  from  this  it  was  to  be  derived,  as 
a  necessary  consequence,  that  the  only  business  before  the  present 
council,  was  to  carry  out  the  decrees  of  the  council  of  Pisa ;  that  the 
council  therefore  should  proceed  on  the  assumption  that  the  authority 
of  Pope  John  XXIII.  was  alone  valid,  and  that  the  only  thing  neces- 
sary was  to  persuade  or  to  compel  the  other  two  popes  to  submit. 2 
Against  this,  it  was  observed  by  d' Ailly  3  and  others,  that  the  council 
of  Constance  was  not  competent  to  confirm  the  council  of  Pisa,  stand- 
ing as  it  did  on  the  same  footing  of  authority  with  its  own ;  and  the 
only  influence  of  such  a  proceeding  would  be  to  unsettle  the  minds 
of'  men,  as  if  that  general  council  were  not  a  legal  one  by  itself;  but 
the  council  of  Constance  must  be  regarded  as  an  independent  continu- 
ation of  the  council  at  Pisa,  and  act  accordingly.  Thus  they  ought 
to  proceed  in  reference  to  the  reformation'  of  the  church  in  its  head 
and  members,  and  the  restoration  of  church  unity.  Hence  it  might 
be  inferred,  that  the  council  was  competent,  if  the  general  good  of  the 
church  required  it  and  her  union  was  to  be  secured  in  no  other  way,  to 
oblige  all  the  three  popes  to  resign. 

This  form  of  transacting  business  could  not  fail  to  work  favorably 
on  the  course  of  the  council.  The  effects  of  the  freer  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding soon  manifested  themselves.  A  man  stained  with  so  many 
vices  as  this  Balthazar  Cossa,  whose  crimes  were  known  to  so  many, 
must  soon  be  exposed.  In  the  month  of  February,  of  the  year  1415, 
a  number  of  charges  against  the  pope  were  laid  before  the  council, 
relating  to  every  species  of  vice  and  crime,  and  which,  for  the  most 
part  at  least,  were  too  true.  To  the  pope,  who  had  his  secret  spies  in 
all  quarters,  this  was  soon  reported  ;  and  at  first  he  was  thrown  into 
great  trepidation  and  anxiety,  for  his  conscience  accused  him.  He 
called  round  him  certain  cardinals  and  other  prelates,  his  confidents, 
for  the  purpose  of  consulting  what  was  to  be  done  under  these  crit- 
ical circumstances.     He  endeavored  to  make  himself  friends  by  pro- 

1  Ihid.  p.  228.  3  Tom.  II,  p.  194. 

8  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  IV,  1  p.  23  sq. 


COUNCIL    OF   CONSTANCE.  105 

mises  and  presents.  Already  lie  entertained  the  design,  as  it  is  said, 
tp  appear  before  the  council,  and  on  many  points  confess  his  guilt  as 
a  sinful  man;  but  to  deny  other  things,  and  to  claim  that  being  pope, 
he  could  be  deposed  only  for  heresy.  But  there  was  no  intention  of 
pushing  matters  to  an  extreme.  The  crimes  charged  were  of  a  nature 
so  grossly  bad,  that  the  council  must  have  hesitated  about  the  propri- 
ety of  bringing  such  matters  into  public  discussion,  to  the  disgrace  of 
the  papacy  and  of  the  church  ;  matters  which  could  not  fail  to  scan- 
dalize many.  It  was  considered  a  better  course,  not  to  enter  into  any 
further  examination  of  these  matters,  but  only  to  take  advantage  of 
the  bad  position  of  the  pope  to  induce  him  to  resign,  and  thus  make 
the  way  easier  to  an  extermination  of  the  schism.  When  this  pro- 
posal was  laid  before  the  pope,  he  was  at  first  very  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  get  out  of  his  worst  difficulty  so  easily.  But  he  concealed 
his  satisfaction,  and  assuming  a  serious  mien,  declared  himself  inclined, 
far  the  sake  of  the  peace  of  the  church,  to  resign,  if  the  other  two 
popes  would  also  do  the  same,  since  in  this  case  alone  would  it  be  of 
any  use.1  But  having  somewhat  recovered  from  his  first  fright,  John 
began  to  assume  again  a  more  haughty  tone.  He  drew  up  such  forms 
of  abdication  as  still  left  him  a  subterfuge,  so  that  he  might  avoid  the 
necessity  of  laying  down  the  papal  office.  Men  had  learned  caution 
from  earlier  experiences,  and  were  disposed  in  all  cases  to  be  on  the 
look  out :  hence  they  had  some  objections  to  find  with  each  of  the 
three  forms  of  abdication  which  the  pope  proposed.  It  evidences  the 
utter  shamelessness  and  moral  stupidity  of  Balthazar  Cossa,  a  man 
conscious  of  such  infamous  crimes,  that  he  was  still  capable  of  begin- 
ning the  third  form  of  abdication  in  words  like  these  :  2  "Although  the 
most  holy  father  is  bound  by  no  vow,  by  no  oath,  or  promise,  which  he 
may  have  given,  yet  he  promises  and  vows,  for  the  sake  of  the  peace 
of  the  christian  people  of  God  and  the  church,  that  he  will  of  his  own 
free  accord  give  them  peace  by  his  abdication,  in  person,  or  through 
his  authorized  agents,"  etc.  Finally,  John  consented,  on  the  first  of 
March,  to  present  before  the  assembled  council  a  form  of  abdication 
such  as  should  be  prescribed  for  him.  This  announcement  excited 
great  joy,  and  the  Te  Deum  was  sung.  Still  an  abdication  of  the 
pope  conditioned  on  the  proviso,  that  the  other  two  popes  should  also 
do  the  same,  failed  of  giving  perfect  satisfaction  by  reason  of  the  con- 
dition itself,  since  it  was  impossible  to  reckon  on  the  course  which  the 
other  two  popes  might  take.  Now  as  the  emperor  Sigismond  was 
about  making  a  journey  to  Nice  for  the  purpose  of  treating  with  Pope 
Benedict  about  his  resignation,  Pope  John  was  strongly  urged,  for  the 
sake  of  putting  an  end  forever  to  all  evasions,  to  give  the  emperor 
himself  full  powers,  or  to  send  in  his  company  an  agent  fully  author- 
ized to  make  the  abdication  in  his  name  at  once.  But  in  the  mean- 
time, John  had  succeeded  in  bringing  over  to  the  side  of  his  interests 
a  number  of  princes  and  prelates  ;  he  might  hope  to  sow  discord  in 

1  V.  d.  Harclt.  torn.  IV,  p.  41,  and  the     resident  at  the  Roman  court  in  Constance, 
words  of  Theod.  of  Niem,  who  then  was  a    torn.  II,  c.  3,  p.  391. 

2  Tom  II,  c.  21,  p.  234. 


106  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

the  council,  since  many  were  still  too  much  entangled  in  the  old  church- 
system,  to  feel  at  liberty  to  approve  any  sterner  measures  against  the 
pope.  Not  only  were  the  Italians  of  this  temper,  or  else  inclined  to 
the  interest  of  the  pope  in  other  ways,  but  a  breach  was  already  threat- 
ening to  take  place  betwixt  the  freer  party,  which  consisted  of  the 
Germans  and  the  English,  and  at  whose  head  was  the  emperor,  and  the 
French  deputies  on  the  other  side.  But  this  division  was  fortunately 
prevented  by  the  exertions  of  the  emperor.  Thus  the  pope  struggled 
every  way  against  the  above  proposition,  as  if  by  following  it  he 
would  compromise  his  dignity.  He  proposed  to  make  the  journey  him- 
self to  Nice  for  the  purpose  of  treating  with  Pope  Benedict.  But 
taught  by  the  experience  which  they  had  had  of  Benedict  XIII.  and 
Gregory  XII.,  the  council  had  no  confidence  in  the  sincerity  of  this 
proposal,  and  feared  that  the  pope,  having  once  got  away  from  Con- 
stance, would  endeavor  to  effect  a  dissolution  of  the  council.  In  vain 
had  the  pope  endeavored  to  soften  the  heart  of  the  emperor  Sigis- 
mond,  in  whom  the  more  liberal  party  ever  found  their  strongest  sup- 
port, by  the  present  of  the  golden  rose,  consecrated  on  palm-sunday, 
a  mark  of  honor  with  which  princes  were  seldom  gratified  by  the 
popes  ;  in  vain  did  he  pretend  that  the  climate  of  Constance  did  not 
agree  with  his  health,  as  an  excuse  for  leaving  that  city,  to  be  followed 
by  attempts  to  break  up  the  council ;  the  emperor  pointed  out  to  him  the 
unsatisfactory  character  of  these  pretences,  and  offered  him  any  more 
agreeable  spot  which  he  might  choose  for  a  residence  in  the  vicinity 
of  Constance.  Already  rumors  were  afloat  about  the  pope's  designs 
to  get  away  from  Constance,  and  secret  directions  given  to  those  hav- 
ing custody  of  the  gates,  not  to  allow  him  to  escape.  The  pope  con- 
tradicted all  such  rumors  before  the  emperor  himself.  Meanwhile, 
Duke  Frederic  of  Austria,  according  to  the  plan  agreed  on  with  the 
pope,  came  on  the  20th  of  March  to  Constance,  and  while  he  was  di- 
verting the  public  attention  by  a  magnificent  tournament  on  the  next 
following  days,  Pope  John  escaped  in  the  darkness  of  the  evening,  dis- 
guised as  a  groom,  and  fled  to  Schaffhausen. 

Balthazar  Cossa,  whose  conscience  seems  to  have  been  completely 
blunted,  could  now,  under  the  protection  of  Duke  Frederic,  and  at  a 
distance  from  the  council,  breathe  more  freely :  he  could  now  more 
easily  indulge  the  hope  that  he  should  yet  succeed  in  sowing  discord 
among  the  prelates  of  the  council,  and  effect  its  dissolution,  as  well-dis- 
posed persons  of  that  time  feared  he  might  do.  He  put  forth  from 
Schaffhausen  letters  in  justification  of  the  course  he  had  taken,  full  of 
holy  pretensions.  Sometimes  he  justified  his  flight  by  pleading  danger 
to  his  health  from  the  unfavorable  climate  of  Constance,  compelling  him 
to  take  this  course  ;  sometimes  he  complains  of  the  emperor,  as  hinder- 
ing the  free  action  of  the  council,  putting  restrictions  on  the  pope  him- 
self, and  threatening  him.  He  used  in  justifying  his  conduct  the  words 
which  we  have  already  cited,  words  so  customary  in  the  diplomatic 
style  of  hypocrisy,  "  It  was  a  fear  such  as  might  overcome  even  a 
steadfast  man."  He  summoned  the  cardinals  and  papal  officials  to 
meet  him  at   Schaffhausen  on  pain  of  the  ban.     Many  actually  com- 


COUNCIL    OF    CONSTANCE.  107 

plied  with  the  summons.  They  travelled  backwards  and  forwards 
between  the  council  and  the  pope,  executing  the  pope's  secret  commis- 
sions ;  and  they  succeeded  in  stirring  up  contention  in  the  council. 
Many  began  already  to  say,  No  pope,  no  council,  and  the  council 
seemed  disposed  to  remove  to  some  other  spot.  Already  the  worst 
was  to  be  feared.  The  canonical  priest,  Zacharias  of  Urie,  a  native 
of  Constance,  and  the  historian  of  the  council,  who  wrote  at  this  mo- 
ment, makes  the  complaining  church  express  her  fears,  that,  as  at  Pisa, 
the  schism  instead  of  being  healed  was  multiplied,  so  from  the  council 
of  Constance  would  result  an  increase  rather  than  a  cure  of  the  evil. 
The  pope  would  succeed,  under  the  protection  of  Duke  Frederic,  in 
escaping  to  Bologna  ;  he  would  establish  his  authority  as  pope  in  Italy  ; 
the  council  would  choose  a  new  one  ;  neither  Gregory  nor  Benedict 
would  resign  ;  and  then  there  would  be  four  popes  at  once.1  But  by 
the  constancy  of  the  independent  members  of  the  French,  German,  and 
English  nations,  by  the  vigorous  measures  of  the  emperor  Sigismond 
and  his  cooperation  with  Chancellor  Gerson,  who  was  even  then,  called 
the  soul  of  the  council  (anima  concilii),  it  was  so  managed,  that  the 
infamous  man,  who  still  called  himself  pope,  and  to  whose  selfish  inte- 
rests many  lent  their  support,  did  not  succeed  in  carrying  out  his 
maxim,  Divide  et  impera. 

Gerson,  in  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  university  of  Paris,  held 
before  the  assembled  council,  on  the  23d  of  March,  a  grave  discourse 
in  exposition  of  the  new  and  freer  system  of  ecclesiastical  law,  boldly 
setting  forth  the  principles  already  propounded  by  him,  and  on  the 
recognition  of  which,  he  believed,  all  independent  action  of  the  council 
must  be  based.  In  this  discourse,  he  defines  the  idea  of  a  general 
council  as  follows  :  2  "  It  is  an  assemblage  of  all  orders  of  the  catholic 
church  convoked  by  legitimate  authority,  excluding  no  person,  whoever 
he  may  be,  that  demands  to  be  heard,  and  for  the  purpose  of  deliber- 
ating and  determining  in  a  wholesome  manner,  on  all  matters  relating 
to  the  needful  guidance  of  the  church  in  faith  and  manners."  He 
proceeds  to  say,  "  If  the  church  or  general  council  decrees  anything 
relating  to  the  guidance  of  the  church,  the  pope  is  not  so  exalted  even 
above  positive  law,  as  to  be  authorized  arbitrarily  to  annul  such  decrees, 
in  the  way  and  in  the  sense  in  which  they  were  decreed.  Although  a 
general  council  cannot  annul  the  pope's  plenitude  of  power,  conferred 
on  him  by  Christ  in  a  supernatural  way,  still  it  may  modify  the  use 
of  that  power  by  determinate  laws,  and  by  confining  it  within  a  certain 
range  for  the  edification  of  the  church,  with  reference  to  which  the  papal 
power,  as  well  as  all  other  authority  entrusted  to  man,  was  instituted. 
And  tl lis  is  the  ultimate  basis  of  all  church  reformation.  A  church 
assembly  may  be  convoked  in  many  cases  without  the  express  sanction 
and  the  express  proposal  of  the  pope,  though  he  may  have  been  law- 
fully elected  and  still  living.  One  case  is  when  he  is  accused  and 
challenged  to  hear  the  church,  according  to  the  direction  of  Christ ; 

1  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  I,  p.  179  sq.  2  Gersonis  orat.  in  v.  d.  Ilardt.  torn.  II, 

p.  272. 


108  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

and  he  obstinately  refuses  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  church.  Another 
case  is,  when  important  affairs  are  to  be  deliberated  upon  in  a  general 
assembly  and  the  pope  declines  to  convoke  it.  Another  case,  when  it 
has  already  been  determined  by  one  general  council  that  another  shall 
be  held  at  a  certain  time  ;  and  the  last  case,  whenever  a  lawful  doubt 
exists  with  regard  to  the  pretensions  of  several  individuals  contending 
with  each  other  for  the  papal  office.  The  authority  of  this  council  is 
such,  that  whoever  seeks  knowingly,  in  a  direct  or  indirect  manner,  to 
dissolve  it  and  destroy  its  authority,  or  to  remove  it  to  another  place, 
or  to  set  up  another  council  in  opposition  to  it,  subjects  himself  to  the 
suspicion  of  creating  a  schism,  or  a  heresy."  Such  an  one  may  be 
accused  before  the  council,  and  must  defend  himself  before  the  same, 
to  whatever  order  he  may  belong.  That  the  council  is  greater  than 
the  pope,  is  evident  from  the  words  of  Christ,  that  the  offending  broth- 
er should  be  accused  before  the  church,  a  law  which  admits  of  no  ex- 
ception. Now  then,  if  the  pope  gives  occasion  of  scandal  to  the  whole 
church,  and  perseveres  in  it  to  the  great  injury  of  faith  and  good 
manners,  ought  he  not  to  be  punished  according  to  that  law  ?  * 

This  discourse  was  communicated  to  the  cardinals  by  the  emperor 
Sigismond,  at  first  in  manuscript ;  but  such  as  were  governed  by  the 
spirit  of  the  party,  and  devoted  to  the  papal  interest,  could  of  course, 
only  condemn  the  principles  here  expressed.  They  declined  being 
present  at  the  time  the  discourse  was  delivered,  lest  by  so  doing  they 
might  seem  to  give  countenance  to  the  principles  set  forth  in  it.  The 
Patriarch,  John  of  Antioch,  ventured  to  lay  down  positions,  standing  in 
direct  contradiction  to  those  principles.  He  was  an  advocate  for  un- 
conditional papal  absolutism.  From  the  fact  that  Christ  had  given  to 
Peter  the  power  of  the  Keys,  he  inferred  that,  in  the  pope,  as  succes- 
sor of  the  apostle  Peter,  resides  all  plenitude  of  ecclesiastical  power ; 
all  authority  of  the  church  and  of  a  general  council  could  only  proceed 
from  him  ;  the  council  therefore  was  subject  to  him,  not  he  to  the 
council  ;  without  him  no  council  could  subsist;  he  was  responsible  to 
none  other  than  the  Lord  ;  and  though  he  plunged  multitudes  of  souls 
into  hell,  no  one  could  call  him  to  account.2  It  is  easy  to  see  what 
might  be  expected  from  the  advocates  of  such  a  bent:  and  such 
principles,  it  must  be  confessed,  were  required,  in  order  to  defend  such 
a  pope  as  Balthazar  Cossa.  Cardinal  d'Ailly  called  the  patriarch  to 
account  on  the  spot,  for  maintaining  such  positions  :  as  he  also  refuted 
them  afterwards  in  a  book.  The  patriarch,  beset  on  all  hands,  ex- 
cused himself  by  saying,  that  he  had  expressed  these  views,  not  as 
assertions,  but  by  way  of  disputation. 

After  much  controversy  between  the  cardinals  devoted  to  the  papal 
interest  and  system,  and  the  liberal  men  in  the  council,  on  whose  side 
stood  the  emperor  Sigismond,  it  was  finally  brought  about  that,  in  the 
fourth  session  of  the  council,  on  the  30th  of  March,  the  principles  ex- 
pressed by  chancellor  Gerson  were  proclaimed  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  council.     This  notable  session,  constituting  an  epoch  in  the  pro- 

1  P.  278.  2  Tom.  II,  p.  297  ;  torn.  IV,  p.  60. 


COUNCIL    OF   CONSTANCE.  109 

ceedings  of  the  council,  expressed  the  following  principles,  to  wit : '  — 
First,  that  this  council,  lawfully  assembled  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
representing  the  catholic  church  militant,  has  received  its  authority  di- 
rectly from  Christ,  which  every  one,  to  whatever  order  he  may  belong, 
even  though  it  be  the  papal,  is  bound  to  obey  in  whatever  relates 
to  faith  and  to  the  extermination  of  schism.  Second!//,  that  Pope 
John  is  not  authorized  to  remove  the  Roman  court  and  its  officials  to 
another  place.  This  canon,  as  it  was  drawn  up  in  the  assembly  of  the 
nations,  had  however  attached  to  it  an  important  addition  —  "in  all 
things  relating  to  the  reformation  of  the  church  in  its  head  and  mem- 
bers." But  against  this  clause,  as  also  against  many  other  points  at 
variance  with  the  hitherto  prevailing  system  of  the  church  constitution, 
the  cardinals  had  protested  ;  and  the  cardinal  Francis  a  Zabarellis, 
bishop  of  Florence,  commonly  known  under  the  name  of  the  "  Floren- 
tine cardinal,"  otherwise  a  man  rather  disposed  to  favor  reform,  had 
taken  the  liberty  to  omit  this  clause  in  the  proclamation  of  the  canon.2 
With  this,  however,  the  council  was  not  at  all  satisfied  ;  and  it  was 
carried,  in  spite  of  all  protestations  on  the  part  of  all  the  cardinals,  that 
the  bishop  of  Posen  should,  in  the  fifth  session  on  the  6th  of  April,  read 
this  decree  in  its  unabbreviated  form.  Meantime  the  cardinals,  owin2 
to  the  connection  known  to  exist  between  several  of  them  and  the 
worthless  John,  and  owing  to  their  protests  against  the  freer  proceed- 
ings of  the  council,  were  rendering  themselves,  every  day,  more  sus- 
pected and  more  hated.  In  this  struggle  of  parties  at  the  council, 
was  manifested  a  contrariety  of  views,  which  did  not  augur  any  favor- 
able issue.  One  overture,  handed  in  to  the  council  by  a  prelate,  and 
which  certainly  was  based  on  some  foundation  of  truth,  deserves  notice. 
He  proposed,  that  in  all  transactions  relating  to  the  reformation  of  the 
church  in  its  head  and  members,  the  cardinals  should  not  be  allowed 
to  participate,  inasmuch  as  they  were  a  party  concerned,  and  there- 
fore could  not  be  judges.  The  cardinals,  whose  duty  it  was  to  elect  as 
pope  the  best  man,  or  at  least  one  not  altogether  bad,  having  knowingly 
elected  so  abominable  a  man,  and  by  this  abuse  of  their  power  given 
so  great  scandal  to  the  whole  church,  had  by  so  doing  rendered  them- 
selves unworthy  of  participating  in  the  election  of  a  pope  ;  they  de- 
served other  punishments,  but  for  these  reasons  should  not  be  allowed 
to  share  in  these  transactions  of  the  council.  It  was,  moreover,  al- 
leged against  them,  as  a  reason  for  excluding  them  from  these  transac- 
tions, that  they  had  rendered  themselves  liable  to  suspicion  by  the  fact 
that  several  of  them  had  followed  the  pope  in  his  scandalous  flight, 
whereby  he  had  given  offence  to  the  whole  church  ;  that  they  had  as- 
serted, on  their  return,  that  a  council  without  the  pope  was  no  council, 
but  only  a  conciliabulum  ;  that  so  long  as  the  pope  was  not  deprived 
of  his  authority,  or  this  authority  was  not  suspended,  no  man,  however 

1  Em.  a  Schelstrate  tractat.  dc  sensu  et  s    Thus    Gobelinus  Persona,  who  was 

auctoritate  decretornm  Constant,  concilii  present  at  the  council,  reports  :   Cosmo- 

gess.  quarta  et  qainta  circa  potestatem  ec-  drom.  in  Meibom.  rer.  germ,  torn,  I,  llel- 

clesia8ticam,  cum   actis  et  gestis  ad  ilia  maestadii  1688,  p.  339;  also  v.  d.  Hardt. 

Bpectant,  Romae  1686,  p.  226.  torn.  IV,  pp.  87,  88. 

VOL.    V.  10 


110  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

mighty,  however  endowed  with  spiritul  gifts,  nor  the  council  even, 
could  effect  a  reformation  ;  because  Pope  John  would  always  find  men 
ready  to  stand  up  for  him,  ready  to  be  made  rich  by  him  ;  would  al- 
ways find  purchasers  of  dignities,  and  therefore  means  to  replenish  his 
exchequer.1     At  this  time  appeared  before  the  assembled  council  a 
messenger  from  the  University  of  Paris,  the  Benedictine  Gentianus, 
and  delivered  a  violent  discourse  against  the  pope  and  the  cardinals.2 
He  complained  that  through  the  papal  party  the  business  before  the 
council  was  delayed  to  the  injury  of  the  church.     Ever  since  the  be- 
ginning of  November,  the  transactions  had  been  strangely  retarded 
by  the  pope  and  the  cardinals,  by  many  unprofitable  transactions,  un- 
til the  1st  of  March,  on  which  day  the  pope  had  laid  before  the  coun- 
cil a  form  of  abdication.     But  when  invited  to  nominate  commissioners 
with  full  powers  to  carry,  in  his  name,  this  abdication  into  effect,  he  had 
constantly  declined  ;  and  the  cardinals,  who  followed  him  in  this,  had 
delayed  matters  by  continually  proposing  amendments,  to  the  great 
hazard  of  their  souls,  and  to  the  great  injury  of  this  council.    Then  the 
pope  had  paid  no  regard  to  his  oath,  had  fled  by  night  in  disguise,  for 
the  purpose  of  breaking  up  the  council,  abandoning  everything  for 
which  it  was  his  duty  to  sacrifice  himself.    But  a  great  part  of  the  car- 
dinals had  followed  the  pope,  hoping  to  go  to  Italy  or  to  some  other 
agreeable  spot.    But  as  they  had  not  succeeded  in  their  designs,  some 
of  them,  out  of  shame,  had  come  back  ;  others,  as  they  had  disgraced 
themselves,  remained  behind  in  Schaffhausen,  lest  a  worse  thing  might 
befal  them.     Then,  the  cardinals  had  opened  negotiations  with  the 
council,  designed  to  retard  its  proceedings  by  mere  talk.     As  an  ex- 
ample of  their  intrigues,  he  states  that  cardinal  Francis  Zabarella  had 
been  bold  enough  to  proclaim  that  decree  respecting  the  supreme  au- 
thority of  the   council,  in  a  mutilated  form  ;  taking  upon  himself  the 
liberty  of  thus  trifling  with  the  council.     Men  who  thought  themselves 
entitled  to  take  such  liberties  as  these,  deserved  no  longer  to  be  admit- 
ted to  the  deliberations.    What  sort  of  people  these  cardinals  were,  had 
been  shown  by  their  election  of  Pope  John.     They  had  sworn  to  choose 
the  best  man  ;  but  they  had  still  chosen  that  John,  whom  they  well  knew 
at  the  time  was  a  tyrant  in  disposition,  an  assassin,  a  man  guilty  of  si- 
mony, and  stained  with  other  crimes.     If  a  person  like  this  was  the 
best  man  among  them,  what  sort  of  men  were  they  themselves  ?     The 
present  evils  had  grown  out  of  those  earlier  ones.     The  pope  and  the 
cardinals  and  their  faction  sought  daily,  by  all  they  did,  to  bring  it 
about  that  this  council,  exhausted  by  excessive  labor  and  expense, 
should  be  compelled  to  break  up.     They  ought  no  longer,  then,  to  be 
trusted  ;   but  all  fellowship  with  them  should  be  withdrawn  by  those 
who  would  not  perish  with  them  in  their  sins.     They  ought  no  longer 
to  be  trusted,  for  they  trifled  with  the  council.     Who,  indeed,  had  ever 
given  greater  scandal  to  the  church,  than  this  Pope  John  and  his  friends, 
with  their  retainers  ?    those  traffickers  who,  in  so  unheard-of  a  man- 
ner, had  higgled  away,  in  bargains,  as  they  would  swine  in  the  market, 

1  Gobelin,  p.  340.  2  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  II,  p.  180  sq. 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE.  Ill 

bishoprics,  abbacies,  canonicates,  and  parish-churches.  In  fact,  the 
bulls  were  drawn  up,  not  in  the  apostolical  chancery,  but  in  the  count- 
ing-houses of  bankers  or  merchants,  among  the  Florentines.  Christ 
drove  the  sellers  and  buyers  out  of  the  temple  ;  the  pope  and  his  ad- 
herents had  brought  them  into  the  temple,  and  caused  their  tables  to 
be  set  up  there.  Let  the  council,  therefore,  in  order  to  bring  to  nought 
these  deceptive  arts,  proceed  undisturbed  in  their  decrees,  and  make 
use  of  the  power  which  God  had  given  them.  Let  them  but  approve 
themselves  as  constant  men  in  Constance^ — so  he  concluded — and 
the  Lord  would  give  them  the  victory,  and  crush  Satan  under  their 
feet.2 

But  such  voices  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  lead  the  cardi- 
nals to  maintain  their  rights  with  so  much  the  more  decision,  and  to 
stand  up  for  the  prerogative  of  the  Roman  church,  without  which  no- 
thing could  be  done.  It  was  only  with  great  difficulty  that  a  breach 
could  be  prevented  between  the  two  stiffly-opposed  parties.  The  coun- 
cil, in  strict  conformity  to  the  principles  which  had  been  announced, 
acted  as  the  highest  independent  tribunal  of  the  church.  The  pope, 
flying  this  way  and  that,  addressed  to  the  council  extravagant  demands, 
with  which  they  could  not  properly  comply,  as  the  price  of  his  abdica- 
tion, and  so  spun  out  the  negotiations.  They  finally  resolved,  therefore, 
to  take  the  last  decisive  step,  without  paying  any  attention  to  the  pro- 
tests of  those  cardinals  who  were  devoted  to  the  pope.  The  pope's 
trial  was  made  the  order  of  the  day,  and  in  the  seventh  session,  on  the 
2d  of  May,  a  citation  was  issued  for  him  to  appear  before  the  council. 

Duke  Frederic  of  Austria  had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  compelled 
by  the  emperor  Sigismond,  to  surrender  into  his  hands  the  person  of 
Pope  John,  and  he  was  conveyed  to  Ratolfszell,  a  few  miles  from  Con- 
stance, and  there  held  in  close  confinement.  The  council  had  set  for- 
ward the  acts  of  the  process  —  the  witnesses  were  heard.  On  account 
of  the  heavy  charges  brought  against  him,  he  was  first,  in  the  session 
of  the  14th  of  May,  suspended  from  all  spiritual  offices  ;  and  then,  in 
the  eleventh  session,  on  the  29th  of  May,  was  pronounced  upon  him  the 
solemn  sentence  of  deposition.  Among  other  charges  brought  against 
him  was  one3  that  he  stubbornly  denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
It  is  indeed  by  no  means  improbable  that  a  dead  faith,  or  superstition 
sufficient  to  hush  an  accusing  conscience  by  outward  modes  of  expung- 
ing sin,  may  accompany  a  life  as  stained  with  crimes  as  was  that  of 
Balthazar  Cossa  ;  but  still  the  conduct  of  this  awfully  wicked  man  be- 
comes more  explicable  to  us  on  the  supposition  of  a  decided  and  con- 
scious infidelity.  The  council,  in  pronouncing  upon  him  the  sentence 
of  deposition  on  account  of  his  ignominious  flight  from  Constance,  on 
account  of  his  perjury,  of  the  scandal  he  had  given  to  the  church,  of 
his  promoting  schism,  still  reserved  to  itself  the  right  of  proceeding 
against  him  on  account  of  his  other  transgressions,  with  greater  or  less 
severity,  as  might  seem  good  to  the  assembled  fathers.*     On  the  next 

1   A  play  on  words:  Si   in   Constantia        3  Gobelin.  Cosmodr.  act.  V7,  1.  1.  p.  341. 
consianres  fueritis.  4  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  IV,  p.  281. 

-   V.  d.  Hardt.  torn  II,  p.  284. 


112  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

day  this  sentence,  passed  by  the  council,  was  shown  to  Balthazar  Cossa, 
in  his  prison  at  Ratolfszell.  He  testified  repentance  for  his  former 
life,  calmly  laid  off  the  papal  insignia,  and  handed  them  over  to  the 
deputies,  and  declared  that,  from  the  time  he  had  put  them  on,  he  had 
not  enjoyed  one  quiet  day.  Balthazar  Cossa  was  then  removed  to  the 
castle  of  Gottleben,  not  far  distant  from  Constance,  and  given  over  to 
the  custody  of  the  palsgrave  Louis  of  Bavaria. 

By  the  deposition  of  Balthazar  Cossa,  one  important  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  restoring  peace  to  the  church  was  removed.  Negotiations 
were  now  opened  with  the  other  two  popes,  Gregory  XII.  and  Bene- 
dict XIII.  The  council  had  uniformly,  in  compliance  with  the  advice 
of  its  wiser  members,  followed  the  principle  of  not  allowing  itself,  in 
relations  so  new  and  extraordinary,  to  be  governed  by  the  letter  of  the 
hitherto  prevailing  laws  ;  but  to  proceed  with  freedom,  as  the  greatest 
good  of  the  church  required.  So  they  acted  in  the  present  case. 
They  were  ready  to  give  way  in  everything,  provided  only  the  schism 
could  be  utterly  exterminated,  and  unity  restored  to  the  church.  With 
Gregory  XII.  this  course  succeeded.  It  having  been  intimated  to  him 
that  he  might  convoke  the  council  anew  and  then  recognize  it,  he  did 
so,  and  then  gave  in  the  desired  abdication,  before  the  council,  by  his 
delegate  Malatesta.  Benedict  XIII.  was,  to  be  sure,  more  obstinate  ; 
and  nothing  could  be  done  with  him.  But  by  far  the  greatest  part  of 
the  Spanish  nation,  which  had  thus  far  been  devoted  to  his  person, 
now  deserted  him  and  recognized  the  council.  Thus  in  the  year  1417, 
they  had  happily  resolved  one  of  their  problems,  and  restored  unity  to 
the  church.  It  was  at  present  a  council  almost  unanimously  recog- 
nized by  all  the  nations  of  Western  Christendom,  and  the  deputies  of 
the  Spanish  nation  now  added  themselves  to  it,  so  that  from  this  time 
it  consisted  of  five  nations.  But  two  problems  now  remained  to  be 
resolved  :  the  long-desired  reformation  in  the  head  and  members,  and 
the  choice  of  a  universally-acknowledged  pope.  The  last  was  not  a 
matter  of  very  great  difficulty,  provided  the  form  of  papal  election 
could  be  so  arranged  that  all  foreign  and  disturbing  influences  could 
be  kept  out  of  the  way,  and  the  chief  influence  in  the  selection  could 
be  secured  to  the  better  and  wiser  members  of  the  council.  Neither  did 
so  much  depend  on  the  person  of  the  pope,  provided  the  general  guid- 
ance of  the  church  were  better  ordered,  provided  that  limits  were  set 
to  all  abuse  of  the  papal  authority,  all  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  su- 
preme pontiff,  by  means  of  an  ecclesiastical  legislation ;  provided  a 
higher  tribunal  could  be  instituted,  before  which  even  popes  might  be 
arraigned  in  case  they  abused  their  power.  Much  more  difficult  was 
the  resolution  of  the  first  problem  ;  for  this  could  never  be  carried  out  in 
a  thorough  manner,  without  conflicting  with  the  selfish  interests  of  many 
corporations  and  individuals.  And  particularly  if  papal  authority  should 
be  restored,  this  might  easily  succeed,  as  at  Pisa,  in  frustrating  any 
thorough-going  reformation  of  the  church. 

Already,  in  the  month  of  August  of  the  year  1415,  a  committee 
from  the  cardinals  and  deputies  of  the  nations,  —  a  collegium  reform- 
atorium,  —  had  been  appointed  to  consult  on  the  affairs  connected  with 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE.  113 

the  reformation  of  the  church ;  and  this  committee  had  continued  its 
deliberations.  Many  propositions  of  a  more  liberal  stamp  had  been 
discussed  and  settled  respecting  the  improvement  of  the  church  con- 
stitution, the  extermination  of  many  abuses,  ecclesiastical  extortions, 
the  matters  of  penance  and  indulgence,  free  church  elections,  the 
veneration  of  relics  and  of  saints,  the  control  of  papal  authority.  Sol- 
emn processions  of  various  kinds  had  been  appointed  for  the  purpose 
of  imploring  the  divine  blessing  on  the  reformation  of  the  church. 
But,  it  must  be  confessed,  the  corruption  of  manners  which  reigned  in 
Constance  during  the  meeting  of  the  council ;  the  multitude  of  prosti- 
tutes, who  had  found  theii  way  into  that  city ;  the  bad  example  which 
so  many  set ;  simony  which  was  practised  during  the  very  acts  of 
reform ;  all  this  furnished  no  very  promising  augury  of  a  successful 
result.  And  even  while  the  business  of  the  council  was  proceeding, 
serious  men  stood  forth,  and  spoke  plainly  to  the  assembled  prelates, 
on  the  open  contradiction  between  their  lives  and  the  promise  of  a 
church  reformation.  We  may  notice  here,  in  particular,  discourses 
preached  by  the  Franciscan  Bernard  Baptisatus  (Baptise)  during  the 
Deliberations  on  these  matters  in  the  year  1417.  He  says  : J  "  The 
masses  and  processions  and  other  things  we  busy  ourselves  with,  have 
little  or  no  value  in  the  sight  of  God,  through  the  fault  of  many  Phari- 
sees, who  come  here  and  pray  to  God  in  the  temple."  In  all  this  he 
saw  no  true  penitence,  no  devout  prayer.  "  The  prelates,  alas !  — 
says  he  —  have  come  to  such  extreme  pride,  that  they  hardly  consider 
the  people  worthy  of  praying  to  God  for  the  same  things ;  they  hardly 
can  join  them  in  imploring  the  divine  grace  or  in  singing  the  Veni 
Creator  spiritus.  He  then  distinguishes  different  classes  of  Pharisees 
assembled  at  the  council  —  graduates,  who  never  attended  mass,  ser- 
mons or  processions ;  holders  of  benefices,  also  parish  priests,  lazy, 
immersed  in  the  business  of  the  world,  without  devotion ;  men  who 
served  not  God,  but  lived  after  the  flesh.  A  second  class  were  those 
who  visited  the  Lord's  temple,  but  whilst  there,  whispered  falsehoods, 
laughed  and  made  fun,  slept,  or  carried  on  indecent  conversation.  A 
third  class  were  those  who  came  to  church  with  a  long  train  of  attend- 
ants, standing  in  the  way  of  the  processions,  and  staring  about  on  all 
sides.  He  mentions,  as  a  fourth  class,  those  who  made  a  trade  of 
ecclesiastical  things.  They  bought  or  sold.  Such  simony,  he  affirms, 
could  not  be  extinguished  by  sermons  and  tracts,  but  only  by  the 
execution  of  the  law  ;  the  persons  guilty  of  it  should  meet  with  con- 
dign punishment.  The  fifth  class  consisted  of  those  who  busied  them- 
selves with  science,  but  not  science  relating  to  divine  things,  but  with 
the  study  of  the  poets,  of  worldly  philosophy,  and  especially  of  juris- 
prudence. He  styles  the  Roman  court  —  of  which  it  was  said,  it 
cared  nothing  for  the  sheep  but  only  for  the  wool  —  not  a  divine  court, 
but  a  court  of  devils.  He  hints  that  it  had  been  revealed  to  one  of 
the  council,  that  unless  simony  should  from  henceforth  be  exterminated 
from  the  church,  and  the  tyranny  in  it  cast  down,  a  dreadful  persecu- 

1  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  I,  p.  881. 

10* 


114  PAPACY    AND     CHDRCH     CONSTITUTION. 

tion  would  shortly  start  up  against  the  clergy,  such  as  had  never  been 
before.  On  the  degeneracy  of  the  clergy  he  uses  the  strong  language 
that  they  had  already  almost  wholly  gone  over  to  the  devil.  Then 
addressing  himself  to  those  who  had  to  elect  the  new  pope,  he  says : 
"  Be  you  no  Pharisees !  Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  bribed  by  money 
in  this  election,  as  was  done  before.1  Suffer  not  yourselves  to  be  mis- 
led by  ignorance,  to  be  disturbed  by  fear,  to  be  turned  aside  by  par- 
tiality for  any  one." 

Everything  now  depended  on  the  question  whether  the  election  of  a 
pope  or  the  reformation  of  the  church  should  be  the  first  thing  to  be 
looked  after.  This  must  have  been  well  understood  by  all  who  had  at 
heart  the  best  good  of  the  church,  all  the  unprejudiced,  all  who  were 
not  bribed  by  some  particular  interest.  Let  us  hear  how  the  enlight- 
ened Nicholas  of  Clemangis,  —  who,  having  now  retired  from  the  din 
of  the  world,  busied  himself  in  silence  with  the  study  of  the  bible,  and, 
remote  from  the  passions  which  agitated  others,  formed  his  opinion 
from  the  experience  of  the  past,  —  how  this  man  contemplated  the 
then  situation  of  the  council  of  Constance.  Writing  about  the  council 
to  his  friend,  Nicholas  de  Baya,2  he  says :  "  What  are  Ave  clergymen 
to  do  amid  so  many  evils  that  affect  us,  and  the  still  greater  ones  that 
threaten  us,  except  to  arm  ourselves  with  the  invincible  shield  of 
patience,  and  with  the  deepest  contrition  of  our  souls  have  recourse  to 
the  weapons  of  our  warfare,  which  are  tears  and  prayers  ?  Had  the 
church  zealously  and  in  a  manner  worthy  of  her,  long  ago,  betaken 
herself  to  these  weapons,  she  would  have  secured  the  alleviation  of 
her  own  troubles,  and  thus  of  many  others  which  affect  the  whole 
world.  But  how  is  she  to  sorrow  over  others'  evils,  if  she  cannot  weep 
over  her  own  which  are  so  grievous  and  deep-rooted  ?  How  is  she  to 
help  others,  if  she  is  too  feeble  to  help  herself,  or  so  careless  as  to 
neglect  to  do  it  ?  "  The  first  and  most  important  thing  of  all,  he  says, 
is  to  find  out  the  cause  of  the  distemper :  It  is  the  anger  of  God, 
which  men  have  drawn  upon  themselves.  He  then  proceeds  :  "  If  we 
Avould  labor,  then,  to  any  effect  for  the  healing  of  these  wounds,  we 
must  proceed  in  this  council  in  a  very  different  way  from  what  has 
hitherto  been  done  :  and  as  I  hear  is  done  by  the  majority  of  ours  who 
are  still  disposed  to  go  to  this  council,  not  so  much  to  seek  peace  for 
the  church  as  to  carry  on  the  business  of  soliciting  benefices  for  them- 
selves. For  I  understand  that  some  are  departing  with  huge  rolls  of 
petitions,  others  with  recommendatory  letters  from  their  princes,  others, 
and  especially  the  bishops,  with  a  view  to  maintain  their  rights  of  col- 
lation and  of  patronage.  Thus  nearly  all  go  to  the  council  to  seek 
their  own,  and  but  very  few  to  promote  whatever  makes  for  peace  and 
for  the  cause  of  Christ ;  when,  however,  the  truth  is,  as  Ave  have  been 
taught  by  the  experience  of  so  long  a  time,  that  those  are  only  means 
for  keeping  up  and  perpetuating  the  schism.  Believe  me,  such  per- 
sons ought  never  to  have  been  selected  for  this  business,  persons  of 

1  Doubtless  an  allusion  to  the  choice  of     2  Ep.  102,  p.  290  sq. 
Balthazar  Cossa. 


COUNCIL   OP    CONSTANCE.  115 

whom  it  is  to  be  expected,  that  they  will  do  more  by  their  covetous- 
ness  to  perplex  the  cause,  than  they  can  do  by  any  zeal  for  peace  to 
promote  it  in  any  way ;  but  we  should  have  chosen  men  who  were 
especially  free  from  ambition,  and  inspired  with  zeal  for  peace  and 
church  unity  from  heartfelt  love,  who  would  not  do  fawning  homage  to 
popes  for  the  sake  of  gain,  would  not  be  slaves  to  party  zeal,  but  seek 
to  form  alliances  for  the  promotion  of  a  wholesome  concord,  and  not 
their  own  private  ends.  For  who  could  hope  that  the  unity  of  the 
spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  could  ever  be  restored  amidst  so  much 
ambition,  amidst  such  corrupting  flattery,  so  many  quarrels  growing 
out  of  party  zeal  ?  The  Holy  Ghost,  the  Author  and  mediator  of 
peace,  is  not  wont  to  be  called  down  by  such  arts.  Peace  comes  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  those  who  seek  it  in  guileless  love,  not  with  the 
prompting  of  carnal  inclinations.  For  although  the  majority  may  dif- 
fer from  one  another  in  their  wishes  and  votes,  as  usually  happens  in 
councils,  yet  all  must  agree  in  love,  that  is,  all  must  strive,  out  of 
charity,  for  concord.  Those  who  do  not  so,  deserve  not  to  assist  in 
counsels  for  peace,  which  they  are  wont  to  destroy  more  than  to  pro- 
mote. Those  who  from  a  love  without  guile  seek  for  concord,  do 
not  defend  their  opinions  with  proud  and  pertinacious  passion  ;  do  not 
with  self-glory  rank  themselves  above  others  in  understanding  and 
wisdom  ;  do  not  seek  diligently  their  own  gain,  their  own  glory  and 
promotion.  Such  the  Holy  Spirit  visits,  such  he  assists,  such  he  en- 
lightens. Such,  enlightened  from  above,  see  what  is  right,  what  is 
good,  what  is  to  be  followed,  what  is  to  be  avoided,  in  affairs ;  which 
others,  blinded  by  the  dust  of  their  passions,  are  not  wont  to  see. 
For  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  teaches  them  all  things,  and 
inspires  them  by  secret  influences  with  all  that  is  profitable  and  health- 
ful." In  order  to  participate  in  this  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  — 
he  says  —  those  w7ho  would  assist  at  the  council  must  give  themselves 
to  true  repentance,  and  employ  every  means  of  grace,  to  purify  their 
souls  from  sin,  and  render  them  fitter  temples  for  the  Holy  Spirit. 
If  he  who  is  preparing  for  fellowship  with  Christ  in  the  communion, 
betakes  himself  earnestly  and  in  every  way  to  acts  of  penitence,  how 
should  not  he  who  would  prepare  his  soul  for  the  indwelling  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  be  solicitous  above  all  things  to  have  it  cleansed  and 
placed  in  suitable  order  for  such  a  resident.  "  Of  what  use  —  says 
he  —  are  masses,  processions,  and  public  invocations  of  the  Holy  Spi- 
rit, if  the  dwelling  of  the  heart  be  not  prepared  for  his  reception  ? 
What  is  it  to  invoke  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  a  stupefied  and 
polluted  conscience,  but  to  invite  him  with  the  lips,  and  exclude  him 
by  the  manners  ?  God  regards  not  the  fine  sounding  voice,  but  the 
well  ordered  soul,  —  not  the  sweet  gracefulness  of  harmony,  but  purity 
of  conscience."  And  he  held  it  necessary  that  not  only  those  who 
personally  attended  the  council,  but  all  who  had  at  heart  the  good  of 
the  church,  should  participate  in  this  work  of  preparation.  "  In  order 
to  pray  rightly  for  this  laudable  union,  not  only  should  this  prepara- 
tion of  the  soul  be  made  by  those  that  attend  the  council,  but  the 
prelates  should  stir  up  the  catholic  people  everywhere  to  take  the 


116  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH     CONSTITUTION. 

same  course."  And  according  to  the  ancient  custom  of  the  fathers, 
they  should  appoint  fasts  aud  other  penitential  exercises  for  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  when  they  are  thus,  so  far  as  human  frailty  allows,  more 
generally  purified  from  the  stains  of  sin,  the  prelates  should  appoint 
solemn  processions  to  appease  the  divine  anger,  which  the  clergy 
should  attend,  with  fasting  and  weeping,  in  sackcloth  and  ashes,  set- 
ting an  example  to  others,  and  the  whole  community  should  accom- 
pany them  with  their  prayers.  During  the  whole  sitting  of  the  coun- 
cil should  processions  be  made  ;  and  the  princes  should  join  in  them, 
not  in  princely  state,  but  in  simple  and  humble  garb,  or  in  the  habili 
ments  of  mourning,  as  we  read  concerning  the  king  of  Nineveh. 
And  all  catholic  kings  should  for  once  lay  aside  their  mutual  enmities, 
and  attend  the  council  in  person,  except  those  who  might  have  reason- 
able excuse  for  absence.  First,  because  by  their  authority,  the  par- 
ties might  be  more  easily  induced  to  engage  heartily  in  the  business 
of  establishing  peace,  and  would  stand  in  far  greater  awe  of  them  than 
they  did  of  the  prelates  and  cardinals ;  next,  because  their  presence 
would  contribute  to  give  the  council  a  more  perfect  feeling  of  security 
and  ease.  And  should  there  be  some  persons  present  inclined  to 
make  difficulty  and  disturbance,  they  could  not  so  easily  carry  their 
purpose  into  effect.  In  case  these  things  were  done,  he  saw  some 
prospect  of  a  new  and  more  glorious  condition  of  the  church  through  a 
reformation  in  its  head  and  members. 

Thus  wrote  Clemangis  near  the  beginning  of  the  council.  But,  after 
having  watched  from  a  distance  its  doings  for  a  period  of  more  than 
two  years,  he  could  not  but  perceive  how  very  far  short  of  his  de- 
mands the  council  had  fallen  ;  and  his  anxiety  about  the  final  issue 
could  not  but  be  immeasurably  increased.  He  writes  to  the  members 
of  the  council ; i  "  Men  assembled  for  the  express  purpose  of  establish- 
ing peace  on  a  sure  foundation  for  the  christian  people,  ought  first  to 
strive  after  peace  with  God  for  themselves,  and  then  seek  to  preserve 
among  each  other  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace,  that 
Satan  may  not  stir  up  new  divisions  among  those  who  are  contending 
for  the  repose  and  peace  of  God's  people.  Satan  had  already,  as  he 
was  informed,  tried  by  various  devices  to  spread  among  them  his  nox- 
ious poison,  and  to  divert  them  by  many  a  cunning  trick  and  delusion 
from  their  holy  purpose,  sometimes  by  drawing  them  away  from  the 
principal  matter  and  plunging  them  into  other  strife-begetting  ques- 
tions, sometimes  by  impelling  them  to  new  elections  through  the  rest- 
less uneasiness  of  the  ambitious,  sometimes  by  throwing  in  their  way 
new  difficulties  growing  out  of  one  cause  and  another.  And  probably, 
this  father  of  lies  and  of  all  wickedness  would  never  be  quiet,  but 
would  seek  to  ruin  the  cause  by  new  devices,  so  long  as  they  could 
avail  anything.  But  it  was  their  business,  amid  all  these  difficulties 
and  hindrances,  to  defeat  his  malice  by  their  wisdom  ;  and  they  must 
confine  all  their  solicitude  to  the  great  object,  if  their  renowned  as- 
sembly convoked  for  the  reestablisment  of  peace,  was  not  to  break  up 

1  Ep.  112  ad  concilium  generate,  p.  311. 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE.  117 

without  accomplishing  its  purpose.  For  should  such  a  thing  happen, 
which  God  forefend  !  then  farewell  to  the  unity  of  the  church  ;  about 
the  reestablishment  of  which  such  great  hopes  had  been  excited.  Men 
would  utterly  despair  of  it ;  and  the  schism  among  the  Latins  them- 
selves would,  like  that  between  the  Latin  and  the  Greek  churches, 
become  an  incurable  one.  Let  them  not  desist,  however,  from  their 
purpose,  since  God  had  already  done  so  much  for  it,  since  by  their  suc- 
cess in  removing  two  of  the  contending  popes  out  of  the  way,  they  had 
peace,  as  it  were,  already  in  their  hands.  Let  them  not  be  moved  by 
the  violent  demands  of  some,  to  proceed  prematurely  to  the  election 
of  a  new  pope  ;  they  could  not,  in  the  present  circumstances,  do  a 
worse  thing  for  the  church.  Let  them  not  imitate  the  actions  of  those, 
who  with  good  reason  were  blamed  by  them.  Those  over-hasty  elec- 
tions had,  in  fact,  brought  ruin  on  the  church :  they  had  caused  the 
schism  to  strike  still  deeper  root,  and  plunged  the  church  into  those 
coils  out  of  which  it  could  not  possibly  be  extricated,  if  the  council 
should  again  proceed,  before  establishing  the  unity  of  the  church  on  a 
safe  foundation,  to  a  new  papal  election.  He  warns  them  against  the 
influence  of  ambitious  men,  who  were  seeking  nothing  but  their  own 
benefit ;  of  whom  the  world  and  the  church  were  so  full,  that  in  com- 
parison to  them,  the  rest  were  but  few.  Men  had  hitherto  suffered 
themselves  to  be  controlled  too  much  by  such  persons,  had  bestowed 
too  much  attention  on  the  mere  distribution  of  benefices.  Let  them 
from  the  example  of  the  past,  then,  take  warning  with  regard  to  the 
future.  The  choice  of  a  pope  should  be  the  very  last  thing  of  all. 
He  proposes  that  the  council  in  the  meantime,  should  make  an  ordi- 
nance empowering  the  bishops  to  attend  to  the  distribution  of  the  bene- 
fices. He  believes  that  it  would  on  the  whole,  have  been  much  better 
for  the  Roman  church,  if  it  had  not  taken  all  this  into  its  own  hands, 
had  not  thus  been  diverted  from  the  repose  of  meditation,  and  entangled 
in  so  much  secular  business.  They  should  not  let  themselves  be  drawn 
aside  by  these  minor  affairs  from  the  one  great  business.  Nay,  it  were 
better  that  the  benefices  should  remain  for  a  longer  time  vacant,  than 
that  the  looking  after  the  greatest  good  of  the  entire  church  should 
thereby  fall  into  neglect.  There  was  not  one  way  only,  there  were  va- 
rious methods  by  which  the  heavenly  physician  could  heal  the  distem- 
pers of  the  church  ;  and  he  lets  them  be  discovered  by  those  who  earn- 
estly seek  them :  opens  to  those  who  humbly  knock.  If  the  objects 
attempted  in  one  way,  did  not  succeed,  if  they  could  not  bring  things 
themselves  to  harmonize  with  their  plans  and  purposes,  they  ought, 
rather  than  give  up,  to  accommodate  themselves  to  circumstances  :  as 
a  wise  man  says,  "  If  you  cannot  do  as  you  will,  then  you  should  do  as 
you  can."  It  was  affirmed  by  many  that  one  thing  had  been  settled 
—  which,  however,  he  would  not  believe  — namely,  that  neither  of  the 
three  rival  popes  should  be  elected  again.  Were  they  certain,  then, 
upon  whom  the  lot  of  the  Holy  Ghost  would  fall,  or  was  it  right  to 
think  of  setting  a  limit  or  imposing  a  law  on  the  Holy  Ghost,  Avho  alone 
could  guide  the  choice,  and  govern  the  souls  of  men  ?  What  was  the 
meaning  of  limiting  the  Holy   Ghost  by  man's  arbitrary  will,  except 


118  PAPACY   AND    CHURCH   CONSTITUTION. 

to  exclude  him  entirely  ?  If  the  saying  of  Paul  was  irrefragable, 
that  where  the  spirit  is,  there  is  liberty,  how  could  we  hope  that  the 
spirit  would  be  there,  where  liberty  was  not  ?  Might  it  not  possibly  be 
the  case,  might  not  that  case  perhaps  be  just  at  hand,  that  unless  they 
elected  one  of  these  individuals,  they  could  not  restore  concord  ?  In 
such  a  case,  any  one  surely  could  easily  see,  what  course  would  be 
best,  whether  to  elect  such  a  person,  or  to  go  home  without  peace. 
He  calls  God  to  witness,  that  he  did  not  say  this  out  of  favor  to  any 
man,  but  by  reason  of  his  sympathy  with  the  suffering  church.  Assur- 
edly Clemangis  was  right  in  bringing  the  experiences  of  the  past  as  a 
warning  for  the  council  ;  certainly  he  was  right  in  exhorting  them 
against  the  over-hasty  choice  of  a  pope,  in  warning  them  against  the 
plans  of  self-willed  cunning,  in  inviting  them  to  shape  their  course  ac- 
cording to  circumstances ;  but  with  all  the  true  things  which  he  says 
in  this  letter,  it  is  still  easy  to  understand  that,  although  he  might  not 
be  willing  to  confess  it  himself,  his  old  inclination  in  favor  of  Benedict 
XIII.  governed  him  ;  and  he  would  have  gladly  persuaded  the  council 
to  acknowledge  him  unanimously  as  pope,  which,  however,  would  hardly 
have  been  the  suitable  means  then,  either  for  restoring  union  to  the 
church  or  for  its  reformation.1 

The  emperor  Sigismond  had  the  Germans,  English,  and  French  on 
his  side,  when  at  the  beginning  he  insisted  that  the  reformation  should 
precede  the  election  of  the  pope.  But  the  Italians  and  Spaniards  were 
too  strongly  devoted  to  the  old  system  to  be  able  to  reconcile  it  with 
their  sense  of  propriety,  that  a  council  should  any  longer  subsist  with- 
out a  pope.  The  cardinals  were  bound  together  by  the  esprit  du  corps, 
with  the  exception  of  two  who  agreed  with  the  emperor.  They  feared 
that  too  many  things  would  turn  up  contrary  to  their  own  interest 
from  the  freer  tendencies  of  the  council.  They  exerted  an  influence, 
also,  on  the  other  nations.  The  French  nation,  on  whom  D'Ailly  had 
a  great  influence,  were  gained  over  to  the  project  of  hastening  the 
papal  election.  The  emperor  found  himself  left  alone  with  the  Eng- 
lish and  Germans.  The  German  Doctor,  who  had  charge  of  the  ex- 
ternal affairs  of  the  council,  and  served  under  the  palsgrave,  describes, 
in  his  simple  and  honest  German  style,  the  strong  apprehensions  which 
were  felt  that  the  reformation  would  be  frustrated,  if  the  election  of  a 
pope  should  be  pushed  forward  first.2  The  emperor  and  the  party 
attached  to  him  were  called  upon  from  many  quarters  to  be  careful 
not  to  depart  from  their  plan.  We  may  notice  the  speech  of  Stephen 
of  Prague,  probably  Stephen  Paletz,  that  fierce  enemy  of  Huss,  the 
man  in  whose  eyes  it  was  a  damnable  heresy  to  assert  that  the  church 

1  This  interest  in  favor  of  Benedict  is  would  ride  home,  as  soon  as  he  had  done 
evidenced  also,  when  in  the  132d  letter  ad  up  his  own  business  ;  and  so  the  reforma- 
Reginaldum,  p.  3.36,  he  traces  the  evils  in  tion  would  never  take  place.  And  more- 
France  especially  to  the  circumstance,  that  over,  when  a  pope  was  chosen,  if  the  thing 
tlic  legitimate  pope  Benedict  had  been  pleased  him,  lie  would  set  about  it;  if  it 
treated  so  abusively.  did  not  please  him,  he  would  not  have  it. 

2  "But  the  Anglici  and  Germani  want-  The  whole  matter,  then,  depended  on  the 
ed  to  have  the  reformation  done  before  the  pope  ;  and  so  they  let  the  matter  hang  ; 
election.  And  if  that  were  to  be  done  and  not  a  thought  more  was  had  about  it." 
when   the   choice   was   made,   every  one  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  IV,  p.  1397. 


COUNCIL   OF    CONSTANCE.  119 

could  subsist  without  a  visible  head.  Yet  even  he  felt  himself  con- 
strained to  demand  before  all  things  else  the  reformation  of  the  church. 
Undoubtedly  he  had  sufficiently  experienced  amidst  the  commotions  in 
Bohemia,  that  it  was  nothing  else  but  the  crying  abuses  in  the  church 
that  had  operated  most  powerfully  in  calling  forth  those  reactions. 
He  invited  the  council  before  they  elected  a  pope  to  proceed  to  the 
suppression  of  heresies,  a  business  which  it  was  competent  to,  even 
without  a  pope,  as  it  was  more  than  the  pope  and  the  cardinals,  and 
by  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  infallible  in  matters  of  faith.1 
Speaking  of  the  reformation  needed  in  the  mode  of  appointing  to 
church  offices,  he  says  :  "  By  reason  of  the  many  advantages,  the 
wealth  and  honor  connected  with  ecclesiastical  offices,  the  foolish  and 
the  wise,  the  young  and  the  old,  the  bad  and  the  good,  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned,  strive  to  obtain  them.  All  seek  either  by  good 
means  or  by  bad,  to  attain  to  the  fat  spiritual  prebends.  They  are 
ready  to  move  heaven  and  earth,  expose  themselves  to  great  dangers 
and  great  hardships,  such  that  if  they  endured  the  same  for  God's 
sake,  they  would  win  the  crown  of  martyrdom  ;  they  will  degrade 
themselves  to  the  filth  of  kitchens,  and  to  the  menial  service  of  grooms, 
for  the  sake  of  getting  promoted  to  spiritual  benefices."  We  may 
call  to  mind  the  agreement  between  this  account  and  the  language 
already  cited  of  Chancellor  Gerson,  and  of  Henry  of  Hessia.  He  in- 
vites the  prelates  of  the  council  in  particular,  now  that  they  were 
approaching  the  end  of  their  work  of  restoring  peace  to  the  church, 
to  be  on  their  guard  against  the  devices  of  Satan,  who  was  seeking  to 
thwart  this  object,  was  now  exciting  so  much  the  more  division  among 
them  as  his  time  was  short.  So  we  find  a  letter  also  from  an  unknown 
person,  who,  being  a  bishop  of  no  diocese,  calls  himself  a  vagrant  in 
the  world,2  portraying  to  the  emperor  the  corruption  of  the  church  in 
all  its  orders,  and  urgently  inviting  him  to  forward  the  cause  of  refor- 
mation. So  we  find  the  archbishop  of  Genoa  delivering  a  speech  and 
exhorting  the  emperor  to  perseverance  in  promoting  the  work  of  re- 
form.3 But  the  most  violent  opposition  to  this  course  came  from  the 
part  of  the  cardinals,  who  in  the  month  of  September  presented  two 
protests  against  the  interference  of  the  emperor  and  the  efforts  of  the 
German  party,  against  whom  they  tried  to  excite  suspicion.  They 
complain,  that  although  the  larger  and  sounder  part  of  the  council, 
the  French,  Italian  and  Spanish  nations,  and  the  cardinals,  two  excepted, 
were  of  one  mind  on  the  subject,  the  Germans  pertinaciously  offered  re- 
sistance.4 They  labor  to  show,  that  the  greatest  danger  grew  out  of 
the  long  continued  vacancy  of  the  papal  chair.     The  council,  by  per- 

1  V.  (1.  Hardt  torn.  I,  p.  833.  3  Pilei,  arehiepiscopi  Genuensis  parsene- 

2  Ego  enim  Ilcinricus  mobilis,  episco-     sis,  ibid.  p.  812. 

pus   nullius   dioeceseos,   vagorum   vagus,        4  Tres  nationes,  Italiae  videlicet,  Galli- 

licet  miniums    inter  ceteros   nostrae  cou-  ae  et  Hispaniae,  quae  faeiunt  multo  majo- 

gregationis  ministros    ad    hoc   deputatus,  rem   et  saniorem   partem  concilii,  et  ultra 

legatus  seu   nunciua   specialis,  missus  in  dicti  domini  cardinales  illam  acceptaverint 

universum  orbem,   omnia  videns,  veniens  caet.     Schelstrat.  p.  256. 
visitando  limina  beatorum  Peti-i  et  Pauli, 
etc.     V.  d   Hardt.  torn.  I,  p.  801. 


120  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

mitting  this,  was  inflicting  the  greatest  injury  on  its  own  credit.  In 
many  districts  men  were  still  undecided  as  to  the  stand  which  they 
meant  to  take  in  regard  to  this  thing,  and  were  waiting  for  the  elec- 
tion, to  see  whether  it  would  so  turn  out,  that  they  could  recognize 
the  person  to  be  elected  as  lawful  pope.  Already  reports  were  in  cir- 
culation about  divisions  in  the  council.  Already  men  talked  of  some 
constraint  under  which  it  must  labor.1  It  was  to  be  feared,  that  if 
the  election  should  be  longer  delayed,  a  new  pope  would  be  chosen  at 
Rome,  and  find  acknowledgment  throughout  all  Italy.  It  was  to  be 
feared,  that  by  some  circumstance  or  other,  the  dissolution  of  the 
council  —  a  thing  no  doubt  which  the  cardinals  themselves  with  their 
allies  could  do  a  great  deal  towards  bringing  about  —  might  take  place 
before  any  step  had  been  taken  towards  the  election  of  a  pope : 
and  how  then  could  they  ever  succeed  in  having  a  universally  recog- 
nized pope,  when  there  was  no  pope  to  convoke  a  council  ?  Thus 
these  cardinals  could  never  find  it  in  their  power  to  accept  the  princi- 
ples of  a  freer  church  law ;  the  old  Roman  church-system  ever  lay  at 
the  bottom  of  their  creed.  They  complained  that  the  Germans  had 
left  unanswered  for  three  months  their  invitation  that  they  should 
unite  with  themselves  in  deciding  on  the  form  of  the  papal  elec- 
tion, which,  to  be  sure,  the  Germans  had  done,  but  for  the  good  rea- 
son, that  the  German  party  were  for  deferring  everything  else  until 
the  reformation  of  the  church  had  been  secured.  They  avowed  that 
those  who  were  ever  standing  in  the  way  of  the  election  of  a  pope, 
made  themselves  suspected  of  promoting  the  schism,  inasmuch  as  the 
church,  so  long  as  it  remained  without  a  universally  acknowledged 
head,  was  not  restored  as  yet  to  its  true  unity.  They  washed  their 
hands  of  all  blame,  should  great  dangers  and  mischiefs  be  found  to 
spring  out  of  this  want  of  a  universally  acknowledged  pope  ;  they 
threw  the  responsibility  of  all  this  upon  the  Germans  alone.  They  labor 
to  show  that  the  reasons  given  by  the  latter  for  postponing  the  election, 
were  no  reasons  at  all.  They  themselves  also  and  the  other  three  na- 
tions shared  with  the  Germans  the  interest  which  the  latter  expressed 
for  the  reformation  of  the  church,  as  they  had  indeed  also  taken  their 
part  in  the  transactions  on  that  subject ;  but  there  was  nothing  to  hin- 
der them,  while  proceeding  to  the  election  of  a  pope,  from  acting  also 
at  the  same  time  on  the  matter  of  church  reform.  The  most  im- 
portant thing  in  the  reformation  of  the  church,  was  to  provide,  in 
the  first  place,  that  the  church  should  have  a  universally  acknow- 
ledged visible  head  ;  for  the  body  without  the  head  was  a  mutilated 
carcass.  How  could  men  speak  of  a  reformation  while  this  deforma- 
tion still  continued  to  exist  ?  To  the  unity  of  the  church  belonged 
two  conditions,  the  union  of  the  members  among  themselves,  and  their 
union  with  the  head.     The  first  they  had   attained  ;  the  second  was 

1  Nee  non  etiam,  quod  quorundam,  qui  re.    Ibid.  p.  257.     We  may  probably  un- 

eidem   coneilio  adhaeserunt,   propter  ru-  derstand  here  a  malicious  allusion  to  the 

mores  diseordiarum,  et   quasi  impressio-  pretended  limiting  influence  of  the  empe- 

num,  quas  in  eodum  coneilio  fieri  audiunt,  ror  Sigismond. 
fides  jam  de  eodem  coneilio dicitur  vacilla- 


COUNCIL    OF    CONSTANCE.  121 

still  wanting,  and  this,  therefore,  should  be  the  first  thing  to  be  brought 
about.  Already  the  people  were  uttering  against  the  Germans  such 
reproaches  as  these  :  "  They  were  inclined  to  the  heresy  of  the  Huss- 
ites, to  believe  that  the  church  had  no  need  of  a  visible  head.  A 
card  was  handed  about  containing  twelve  points  which  required  deci- 
sion, among  which  were  the  following :  Whether  it  was  proper  to  say 
that,  the  apostolical  chair  being  vacant,  as  all  know  it  to  be  now,  no 
new  election  was  to  be  made ;  but  that  after  such  a  vacancy,  the 
church  may  remain,  for  a  long  and  undefined  time,  without  a  head, 
and  without  any  canonical  arrangement  relating  to  the  form  of  the 
future  election ;  whether  this  was  contrary  to  divine  law,  contrary  to 
Christ's  direction  with  regard  to  his  vicars  and  the  successors  of 
Peter  ?  Whether  it  was  heretical,  or  appeared  at  least  to  favor  he- 
resy, and  particularly  the  Hussite  heresy,  condemned  by  this  council, 
to  say  that  the  church  could  be  better  governed  without  a  pope, 
than  with  his  authority  and  that  of  the  Roman  church  ?  Whether  it 
was  erroneous  to  assert,  that  it  was  a  less  mischief  for  the  church  to 
be  wholly  without  a  head,  than  to  be  deprived  of  the  reformation  of 
the  head  ?  Whether  to  assert  that  the  Roman  and  universal  church 
could  not  be  reformed  in  the  right  way  without  depriving  her  of  the 
temporal  goods  with  which  she  had  been  superfluously  endowed  by 
the  princes,  was  not  something  erroneous  and  akin  to  the  Hussite 
heresy  ?  In  the  propositions  here  thrown  out,  many  of  which  very 
closely  resemble  what  is  to  be  found  in  the  protest  of  the  cardinals, 
we  see  manifested  a  disposition  to  find  already  in  the  Germans  a  spirit 
hostile  to  the  secularization  of  the  church,  together  with  a  fear  that 
some  attack  might  be  made  on  the  excessive  wealth  of  the  church 
by  a  council  acting  freely  without  a  pope.  In  this  suspicion  and 
these  complaints  against  the  Germans  lies  a  prophecy  ;  although  they 
were  really  at  this  time  far  from  entertaining  any  such  thoughts  of  a 
church  revolution.  Meantime  Robert  Hallam,  bishop  of  Salisbury, 
one  of  the  most  free  spirited  members,  and  the  most  zealous  for  church 
reform,  had  died  at  the  council.  He  had  communicated,  especially 
to  the  English  nation,  the  free  reformatory  spirit.  After  his  death, 
the  English  deputies  wrere  more  easily  drawn  over  to  the  other  party. 
The  Germans  alone  stood  faithfully  by  the  emperor  Sigismond  ;  but 
they  singly  could  not  carry  the  matter  through  without  producing  a 
schism  in  the  council,  and  bringing  about  its  dissolution.  But  the 
Germans  before  they  gave  in,  published  on  the  14th  September, 
1417,  in  opposition  to  the  protest  of  the  cardinals  already  mentioned, 
that  well  known  protest  which  so  characteristically  marks  the  Ger- 
man spirit,  from  which  the  great  Reformation  was  destined  one  day 
to  proceed  :  "  Whereas,  they  had  in  these  days  been  repeatedly 
called  upon  to  send  some  from  their  body  to  deliberate  about  the 
election  of  a  pope,  which,  in  their  opinion,  is  undertaken  prema- 
turely and  unreasonably,  as  it  was  by  their  predecessors  ;  and  whereas, 
the  German  nation,  among  other  nations,  has  been  rather  violently 
beset;  a  nation  —  so  they  characterize  themselves  —  devoted  to 
God,    patient    and    humble,  and    yet   by   God's    grace    not  without 

VOL.  V.  11 


122  PAPACY     AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

power,  but  including  in  itself,  besides  the  imperial  monarchy,  eight 
illustrious  kingdoms,"  etc.  They  then  go  on  to  notice  the  suspicions 
above  mentioned,  that  they  promoted  schism,  favored  the  heresy  of 
Wicklif  and  Huss,  and  remark :  "  These  false  criminations  and 
calumnies  this  nation  has  hitherto,1  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  the  pre- 
servation of  concord,  preferred  patiently  to  endure,  rather  than  by 
manifesting  impatience  and  being  zealous  for  their  own  honor,  expose 
themselves  to  be  charged  by  the  other  nations  with  creating  discord 
among  brethren."  Far  from  them  was  it  to  think  that  the  church 
could  be  governed  without  a  pope,  or  that  a  longer  vacancy  of  the 
papal  chair  was  useful;  yet  they  believed  that  such  vacancy  would, 
perhaps,  be  still  more  dangerous,  where  the  guidance  by  a  council  did 
not  exist  as  a  matter  of  fact.  And  perhaps  it  had  already  been  more 
dangerous,  for  the  two  years  during  which  the  council  had  so  many 
opponents  to  contend  with,  so  many  kingdoms,  which  now  had  attached 
themselves  to  it.  Therefore  the  danger  at  present  seemed  to 
them  to  be  less.  And  since  the  preceding  decline  of  the  church  was 
owing  to  the  schism,  therefore  it  was  especially  necessary,  in  order  to 
guard  against  divisions  for  the  future,  to  provide  for  the  reformation 
of  the  head,  and  of  the  Roman  court,  on  which  future  papal  elec- 
tions must  moreover  depend  ;  and  from  this  point  these  elections  should 
be  fixed  and  settled  by  the  most  sacred  laws.  The  church  from  its 
commencement  onward  had  been  thus  governed  by  the  apostle  Peter  and 
the  other  apostles  and  their  successors,  those  most  devout  shepherds, 
who  cared  not  for  money  but  for  souls,2  through  a  period  of  almost  a 
thousand  years  ;  in  a  word,  so  long  as  heavenly  interests  were  valued 
more  highly  than  earthly ;  but  it  must  be  acknowledged  as  a  painful 
fact,  that  for  the  last  150  years,  or  thereabouts,  several  popes  with 
their  courts  had  been  devoted  to  the  fleshly  life,  immersed  in  worldly 
pleasure,  and  thus  they  had  sunk  downward  to  what  was  still  worse, 
had  forgotten  the  things  of  heaven,  had  taken  no  concern  whatever  in 
the  welfare  of  souls  and  things  purely  spiritual,  but  looked  merely  at 
what  was  subservient  to  gain,  had  usurped  to  themselves,  by  resorting 
to  any  means,  the  rights  of  other  churches.  The  papal  reservations, 
which  spurned  all  laws,  and  which  enabled  them  to  determine  the 
appointments  to  all  ecclesiastical  offices,  are  cited  as  an  example. 
They  had  brought  all  tribunals  under  their  own  control ;  decided  on 
all  matters,  even  secular ;  dispensed  unusual  indulgences  for  money  ; 
and  finally  they  had  amassed  such  an  amount  of  wealth,  that 
many  of  them  could  enrich  all  their  kinsmen,  and  some  had  even 
sought  to  make  them  princes.  And  hence,  and  especially  owing 
to  the  neglect  of  prolonging  general  councils  of  reform,  covetousness, 
which  is  called  idolatry,  paying  court  for  spiritual  dignities,  heresy 
and  simony,  had  spread  far  and  wide.  From  these  causes  had  sprung 
the  most  dangerous  schisms,  which  some  cardinals,  of  different  and 

1  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  IV,  p.  1419 :  Deo  archiam  octo  regna  inclyta  continentem 

devotam,  paticntcm  et  humilem  nationem  caet. 

Germanicam,  per  dei  gratiam  non   magis  2  Devotissimos  pastores,  non   pecunia- 

inipotentem,  sed  praeter  imperialem  mon-  rum,  sed  animarum.    P.  1421. 


COUNCIL   OF    CONSTANCE.  123 

perhaps  hostilely  disposed  nations,  had  in  carnal  temper  promoted  and 
cherished.  Pomp  and  display  had  increased  among  the  clergy. 
Hence  the  study  of  the  sciences  had  declined  ;  church  structures  and 
monasteries  had  fallen  to  decay  ;  their  landed  property  had  remained 
uncultivated  and  uncared  for  ;  and  their  valuable  movable  property 
had  been  squandered  away.  Only  the  rich,  men  versed  in  pecuniary 
affairs,  the  frivolous,  the  general  vagrants,  the  ignorant,  the  vicious, 
and  a  few  capable  men,  were,  in  utter  contempt  of  the  devout  and 
learned,  not  only  promoted,  but  in  God's  temple  preferred  above  all 
others,  as  by  an  undeniable  right  of  succession.  Distinct  prominence 
was  given  to  the  matter  of  indulgences  as  constituting  the  worst  of 
these  abuses  ;' — the  notion  that  sins  could  be  estimated  at  a  certain 
price  and  the  pardon  of  them  sold.1  It  was  because  the  laity  had 
seen  such  things  done  before  their  eyes,  and  had  been  so  scandalized 
thereby,  that  they  looked  with  contempt  upon  the  once  so  highly 
esteemed  order  of  the  clergy,  and  regarded  it  as  more  an  antichristian 
than  a  christian  institution.2  The  German  nation,  it  was  said,  had 
learned  wisdom  by  the  experience  obtained  at  Pisa.  It  had  seen  how 
the  expectation  of  a  reformation  of  the  church,  excited  by  solemn  pro- 
mises and  assurances,  had  been  disappointed  ;  how  after  the  choice  of 
two  popes  the  evil  only  went  on  from  worse  to  worse  ;  how  vice  and  de- 
pravation of  manners  still  worse  than  the  schism  now  to  be  extermi- 
nated, had  spread  far  and  wide.  They  demanded  that  first  of  all, 
this  corruption,  as  the  plague  which  tainted  the  whole  body  of  Christ, 
should  be  exterminated  from  the  house  of  God,  that  the  pope,  as  a 
pure  and  holy  man,  might  be  elected  by  pure  and  holy  men.3  They 
demanded,  that  whatever  appertained  to  the  above  described  degene- 
racy of  the  church,  should  be  so  removed,  that  the  church  might  be 
governed  for  the  future  after  the  example  of  that  more  ancient  church 
governance,  by  which  she  had  been  guided  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before,  and  in  conformity  with  the  old  ecclesiastical  laws  ;  but  this 
after  the  removal  of  those  abusive  ordinances  which  had  been  invented 
to  favor  the  Roman  church.  They  conclude  by  saying :  "  It  is  sooner  to 
be  borne  and  more  salutary,  that  the  Roman  church  should  remain  vacant 
for  a  time,  while  the  general  council  has  the  direction.  It  is  to  be  wished 
that  the  papal  chair  should  in  the  first  place  be  carefully  purged  of  its 
defilement,  lest  the  future  pope,  even  though  the  holiest  man  should  be 
elected,  might,  if  he  sat  in  the  midst  of  these  abuses,  become  himself 
defiled.4      The  Germans  then  proceed  to  invite  the  fathers   of  the 

1  Sub  colore  appretiandarum  charta-  vam  putredinem,  antequam  pastor  apos- 
rum,  crimina  delinquentium',  aut  gratia  tolicus  mundatus,  sanetus  et  Justus  et  per 
dispensationum,  praeeisc  secundum  quail-  mundatos,  sanetos  et  justos  eligatur,  prae- 
tatem  suam,  ut  res  profanae  taxantur,  aim-  mundare,  et  doniutn  dei  ab  inveteratis  foe- 

manifeste   nefandas  committendo,  tidis,  mundandis    maculis   expiare.     Pag. 

indulgcntias  inconsuetas  pro  pecuniis  lar-  1423. 

giendo.     P.  1422.  4  Expedire  videtur  omnino,  pontificalem 

2  Ecclesiastic-urn  statum,  quem  ab  olim  cathedram  prius  diligenter  purgari,  et  Ro- 
devoto  cultu  revcrebatur.  nunc  tanquam  ma  nam  ecclesiam  decoris  moribus  illus- 
ani|i!ins  riguisset,  levipendat,  ut  et  ilium  trari,  quam  fnturum  praesulem,  etiamsi 
apud  aliquos  magis  antichristianum  quam  sanctissimus  eligatur,  in  istis  abusionibus 
christianum  lore  putet.  P.  1423.  sedendo,  commaculare.    P.  1424. 

d  Ex  ovili  dominico   tanquam   infecti- 


124  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

council,  the)r  adjure  them  by  the  duty  of  their  high  calling  and  by  the 
fear  of  God,  to  unite  with  the  German  nation  for  this  end,  that  ere 
they  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  pope,  efficient  decrees  be  published 
at  a  public  session  relating  to  everything  needful  in  order  to  reforma- 
tion ;  and  that  then,  and  not  till  then,  they  should  proceed  to  the  busi- 
ness of  settling  upon  the  right  mode  of  electing  a  pope,  and  to  the 
actual  election,  which  would  in  this  case  prove  to  be  an  easy  affair. 
The  German  nation  protested  before  God,  before  the  host  of  angels, 
and  before  the  entire  church,  to  the  assembled  council,  that  if  they 
refused  to  proceed  in  the  way  required,  it  would  not  be  the  fault  of  that 
nation,  but  theirs,  that  the  bride  of  Christ,  the  holy  mother  church,, in- 
separable from  her  bridegroom,  was  not  restored  to  purity  and  freedom 
from  all  stain,  and  in  being  thus  restored,  brought  back  also  to  perfect 
union.1 

Thus  the  German  nation  replied  to  that  protest  of  the  cardinals,  a 
document  by  which,  as  appears  evident  from  the  tone  of  the  declara- 
tion, they  felt  themselves  wronged  ;  and  thus  they  flung  back  the 
charges  thrown  out  against  them.  This  was  the  last  word  spoken  in 
behalf  of  reform.  Even  the  emperor  and  the  Germans  were  obliged 
to  yield  at  last  ;  as  they  saw  that  nothing  could  be  done.  It  was 
still  required,  however,  that  the  pope  should  bind  himself,  immediately 
after  the  election  and  previous  to  the  coronation,  to  proceed,  before 
undertaking  any  other  business,  to  the  work  of  reform. 

When  the  question,  however,  came  to  be  discussed,  in  what  form  the 
resolution  containing  this  requirement  should  be  drawn  up,  it  was  de- 
clared, in  opposition  to  the  Germans,  that  a  pope  once  chosen  could  not 
be  bound,  —  a  premonition  of  the  course  which  matters  were  to  take.2 
Meanwhile  a  great  deal  was  said  on  the  subject  of  the  church  reform  ; 
but  there  was  an  evident  conflict  between  the  interests,  principles,  and 
wishes  of  the  different  nations.  Yet  one  event  transpired  which  was  of 
great  moment ;  in  a  certain  sense  it  might  be  said  to  constitute  an  epoch 
and  lay  the  foundation  for  a  new  church  constitution.  In  the  39th 
session  the  following  resolution  was  adopted :  that  the  frequent  ap- 
pointment of  general  councils  was  a  principal  means  of  rooting  out  tares 
from  the  field,  counteracting  heresies  and  schisms,  and  promoting  the 
reformation  of  the  church.  The  neglect  of  holding  such  synods  hitherto 
had  occasioned  much  harm.  It  was  therefore  resolved  that  a  general 
council  should  be  held  in  five  years,  then  in  seven  years,  and  from 
thenceforth  every  ten  years.  The  pope  should,  a  month  before  the 
conclusion  of  every  general  council,  make  known  the  place  of  the  next 
council,  to  be  selected  with  the  concurrence  of  this  whole  assem- 
bly. He  could,  for  weighty  reasons,  if  the  circumstances  required 
it,  anticipate  the  time  of  convoking  the  general  assembly,  but  should 
never  pass  beyond  the  terms  above  designated.    Accordingly,  it  would 

1  Protestatur  haec  natio  Germanica  co-  quominus  sponsa  Christi,  sancta  muter  ec- 

ram  deo,  tota  curia  coele.sti,  universali  ec-  clesia,  suo   sponso   inconvulsa,  purior  et 

elesia  et  vobis,  quod  nisi  feceritis  praerais-  immaculata  reformetur,  et  reformata  ad 

sa  modo  et  ordine  supra  dictis,  quod  non  perfectam  reducatur  unitatem.  P.  1424. 
per  cam,  sed  per  vos  stat,  stetit  et  stabit,        2  Schelstrat.  p.  269. 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE.  125 

amount  to  this  :  that  always  either  a  general  council  should  be  actu- 
ally in  session,  or  soon  to  be  held.  If  for  particular  reasons,  how- 
ever, such  as  war  or  a  siege,  the  place  previously  designated  for  the 
council  should  prove  unsuitable,  the  pope,  with  the  concurrence  of  the 
cardinals,  or  two-thirds  of  them,  might  select  a  new  place,  belonging  to 
the  same  nation  with  the  place  first  designated,  unless  the  same  hin- 
drance existed  in  reference  to  the  whole  nation ;  and  in  this  case,  he 
might  convoke  the  council  in  some  other  place  contiguous  to  this  na- 
tion. Yet  all  this  should  be  made  known  a  year  before  the  opening  of 
the  council,  that  all  might  have  it  in  their  power  to  be  present  at  the 
proper  time.  By  carrying  this  law  into  effect,  the  pope's  absolute  power 
would,  to  be  sure,  have  been  destroyed ;  a  limit  would  have  been  set 
to  his  arbitrary  will ;  the  execution  of  the  papal  authority  would  have 
been  subjected  to  constant  oversight.  But  it  was  easier  to  draw  up 
such  a  law  in  words,  than  to  reduce  it  to  practice.  How  much  was  in- 
volved in  bringing  about  such  frequent  meetings  of  a  general  council ! 
While  the  contest  was  still  going  on  between  the  Germans  and  the 
other  nations  on  the  question,  In  what  way  the  pope  should  be  bound 
to  make  arrangements  for  a  reformation  of  the  church,  news  came,  that 
a  man  entitled  to  the  highest  veneration,  the  bishop  of  Winchester, 
uncle  to  the  king  of  England,  bound  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  had 
arrived  at  Ulm.  He  was  called  in  to  act  as  a  peace-maker ;  and  he 
succeeded  in  bringing  about  an  agreement,  on  the  30th  of  October.  It 
was  settled  that  the  council  should  draw  up  a  decree  to  the  effect  that 
the  pope  to  be  elected  should  reform  the  church  in  its  head  and  in  the 
Roman  court,  according  to  justice,  and  as  the  good  government  of  the 
church  required,  before  the  council  was  dissolved ;  moreover  the  fol- 
lowing points  were  expressly  settled:  1.  Relative  to  the  number,  the 
quality,  and  the  nation  of  the  cardinals  ;  2.  relative  to  the  reformation 
of  the  apostolical  see  ;  3.  relative  to  the  annates  ;  4.  relative  to  the 
collation  of  benefices  and  gratifications  in  expectancy ;  5.  relative  to 
the  confirmation  of  church  elections  ;  6.  relative  to  affairs  which  were 
to  be  transacted  and  those  which  were  not  to  be  transacted  in  the  Ro- 
man chancery  ;  7.  relative  to  appeals  to  the  Roman  court  ;  8.  rela- 
tive to  the  question  for  what  causes  and  in  what  manner  the  pope 
might  be  corrected  or  deposed  ;  i  9.  relative  to  the  extirpation  of  si- 
mony ;  10.  relative  to  dispensations  ;  11.  relative  to  indulgences.  It 
was  determined  that,  after  committees  had  been  appointed  for  discus- 
sing and  settling  these  matters,  the  rest  might  return  home.  The  car- 
dinals had  now,  therefore,  secured  their  object  —  that  the  deliberation 
respecting  the  form  of  papal  election  should  come  first  in  order.  Al- 
ready had  many  of  the  freer  voices,  from  the  German  nation  as  it  seems, 
demanded  that  the  cardinals  should  have  no  part  in  the  papal  election. 
We  have  seen,  already,  how  their  late  choice  of  one  of  the  most 
abandoned  men  had  been  turned  against  them.  It  was  not  without 
reason,  therefore,  that  their  influence  was  distrusted  ;  but  they  had  no 
intention  to  put  up  with  this  exclusion.     One  of  them  declared,  that  a 

1  Propter  quae  et  quomodo  Papa  possit  corrigi  vel  deponi.     Schelstrat.  p.  '271. 

11* 


126  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

council  without  a  pope  had  no  right  to  alter  the  form  of  the  papal  elec- 
tion ;  that  a  pope  chosen  according  to  this  altered  form,  would  not  be 
acknowledged  as  lawful  pope.  They  finally  agreed  upon  this  :  that  six 
from  each  nation,  together  with  the  cardinals,  should  unite  to  form  an 
electoral  college,  and  that  he  who  received  two  thirds  of  the  votes  of 
these  electors  should  be  recognized  as  lawful  pope.1  Through  the  strife 
of  the  different  nations,  of  whom  each  wanted  to  have  a  pope  from  its 
own  body,  another  schism  might  easily  have  arisen.  The  Germans  set 
the  example  of  sacrificing  their  own  wishes  and  interests  to  the  good 
of  the  church,  declaring  themselves  ready  to  give  their  votes  for  an 
Italian  ;  they  also  prevailed  on  the  English  to  yield.  The  French  and 
Spaniards  were  refractory  at  first ;  but  finally,  after  the  invocation  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  on  St.  Martin's  day  in  November,  they  were  prevailed 
upon  to  give  place  for  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  spirit  of  concord  ;  arid  on 
the  same  day,  Cardinal  Otto  of  Colonna  was  chosen  pope,  after  the 
election  had  lasted  three  days.    He  called  himself  Martin  the  Fifth. 

When  it  was  found  that  the  newly  elected  pope  did  not  proceed  so 
speedily  as  was  desired,  to  the  work  of  reform,  the  French  deputies 
betook  themselves  to  the  emperor,  and  begged  him  to  press  the  matter 
with  the  pope  ;  but  Sigismond  told  them,  that  at  an  earlier  day,  while 
as  yet  there  was  no  pope,  it  had  been  his  duty  to  look  after  this  matter  ; 
and  when  he  -had  insisted  that  the  reform  should  precede  the  pope's 
election,  they  had  opposed  him.  Now  they  had  a  pope  as  they  desired ; 
and  to  him,  therefore,  they  should  go,  whose  business  it  ivas  now.2 
When  at  length,  the  subject  of  reformation  again  came  up  for  delibera- 
tion, the  Germans  presented  a  draft  from  which  we  select  the  following 
remarkable  points.  The  business  related  to  the  cases  in  which  the  pope 
might  be  corrected  or  deposed.  It  appeared  to  them  that  the  pope 
could  be  punished  and  also  deposed  by  a  general  council,  not  only  for 
heresy,  but  also  for  notorious  simony,  as  well  in  reference  to  the  sacra- 
ments as  to  the  bestowment  of  benefices,  and  for  any  other  notorious 
transgression,  whereby  scandal  was  given  to  the  church,  if,  when  re- 
minded of  his  fault  in  a  lawful  way,  he  proved  to  be  incorrigible.  Fur- 
thermore, that  the  excessive  indulgences  which  had  been  granted  dur- 
ihg  the  time  of  the  schism,  and  had  extended  to  the  pardon  of  all  sins, 
should  be  wholly  revoked. 3  Pope  Martin  subsequently  drew  up  a  plan 
of  reform  which  by  no  means  answered  the  expectations  of  the  nations. 
In  this  plan  some  notice  was  taken  of  the  two  points  just  referred  to, 
which  had  been  brought  up  by  the  Germans.  In  reference  to  the  first, 
it  was  observed,  that  it  did  not  appear,  and  such  was  the  judgment  also 
of  several  of  the  nations,  how  anything  new  could  be  determined  on 
that  matter.  In  reference  to  the  second,  it  was  said  the  pope  would 
take  care  for  the  future,  that  there  should  be  no  too  lavish  dispensation 
of  indulgences,  lest  they  might  fall  into  contempt.4    And  those  granted 

1  V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  IV,  p.  1452  sq.  itus  revocandae.      V.  d.  Hardt.  torn.  I,  p. 

2  Gobelin.  Pers.  Cosm.  p.  345.  1010. 

3  Quod  indulgentae  exorbitantur  con-  4  Cavebit  dominus  noster  papa  in  futu- 
cessae  tempore  schismatis,  continentes  re-  rum  nimiam  indulgentiarum  etfusionem, 
missionem  omnium  peccatorum,  sint  pen-  ne  vilescant.  Ibid.  p.  1038. 


COUNCIL   OF   CONSTANCE. — MARTIN   V.  127 

since  the  death  of  Gregory  XI.,  together  with  such  as  had  been 
granted  for  release  from  punishment  and  debt  or  full  pardon  of  sin  at 
certain  places,  he  revoked  and  declared  null  and  void.  Then  still 
greater  advantages  were  gained  to  the  papal  interest  by  concordats 
with  the  several  nations. 

The  last  session  of  the  council  on  the  22d  of  April  of  the  year  1418, 
in  which  session  the  council  was  adjourned  by  the  pope,  was  a  scene 
of  great  agitation.  Before  the  close,  the  envoys  of  the  Poles  and  the 
Lithuanians  appeared  with  a  grievance.  They  had  accused  before 
the  council,  a  book  of  the  Dominican,  John  of  Falkenberg,  who  had 
been  hired  by  the  German  order  of  knights  to  provoke  a  war  of  exter- 
mination against  the  newly  converted  Lithuanians  and  Poles,  as  con- 
taining hurtful  errors  of  doctrine.  This  book  had  been  examined  and 
condemned.  Bat  the  thing  they  demanded,  that  the  pope  should  ap- 
point a  public  session  in  which  the  sentence  of  condemnation  should  be 
proclaimed,  they  could  not  carry  out,  probably  because  the  pope  was 
restrained  by  political  considerations.  They  appealed,  therefore,  from 
the  pope  to  the  next  general  council.  But  they  were  silenced  by  the 
pope  on  pain  of  excommunication ;  and  Martin  V.  put  forth,  in  the 
last  consistory  of  the  cardinals  at  Constance,  a  constitution,  by  which, 
in  direct  contradiction  to  the  principles  so  distinctly  laid  down  at  Con- 
stance, he  directed  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  dispute  any  deci- 
sion of  the  pope  in  matters  of  faith,  and  to  appeal  from  him  to  a  general 
council. 

This  constitution  of  Pope  Martin  V.  was  the  occasion  which  led  Ger- 
son,  towards  the  end  of  the  council  of  Constance,  in  the  year  1418,  to 
compose  a  paper '  in  which  he  defended  anew  the  principles  of  freer 
church  law  expressed  at  Constance.  He  showed  that  by  this  consti- 
tution, the  principle  relating  to  the  supreme  authority  of  the  general 
council  proclaimed  in  that  public  session  at  Constance,  had  been  over- 
turned ;  and  that  inasmuch  as  it  was  by  virtue  of  the  same  that  John 
XXIII.  had  been  deposed  and  Martin  V.  had  been  chosen  pope,  the 
legality  of  his  own  election,  which  rested  on  this  principle,  would  be 
perilled.  He  found  fault  with  this  constitution,  as  contradicting  the 
rule  given  by  Christ  himself,  Matthew  xviii.,  respecting  appeal  to  the 
judgment  of  the  church.  He  went  on  the  principle  that  the  pope 
was  a  man  liable  to  sin  and  to  error ;  his  decision  therefore  could  not 
be  regarded  as  infallible.  In  proof  he  adduces  the  example  of  Peter, 
whose  successors  the  popes  were,  and  cites  the  fact  that  Peter  had 
been  corrected  of  a  practical  error  by  Paul ;  and  maintained  that  a 
doctor  of  theology,  as  a  successor  of  the  apostle  Paul  in  this  regard, 
might  in  a  sermon  publicly  correct  the  pope.  The  decision  of  a  bishop 
or  of  a  pope,  in  matters  of  faith,  should,  in  reference  to  the  extent  of 
the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  either  of  these  functionaries,  bind  only  so 
far  to  obedience  as  that  none  should  deliver  anything  to  the  contrary 
save  where  he  might  feel  compelled  to  do  so  by  the  teachings  of  <  Holy 

1  Tractates,   quomodo  et  an  liceat  in     re  seu  ejus  judicium  declinare.  Oper.  torn. 
in  causis  fiiU-i  a  sommo  pontilice  appella-    II,  p.  303. 


128  PAPACY     AND     CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

Scripture,  or  the  decisions  of  the  church.  Furthermore,  he  was  of 
the  opinion,  that  among  the  immediate  attendants  of  the  pope,  there 
was  often  a  much  greater  want  of  men  stored  with  knowledge,  well- 
experienced  and  grounded  in  pure  doctrine,  than  at  the  universities, 
where  the  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  was  more  sedulously  pur- 
Bued.  He  maintained,  that  it  was  no  less  a  duty  to  meet  and  confute 
those  errors  which  were  at  variance  with  the  commandments,  Thou 
sha'.t  not  swear  falsely,  thou  shalt  do  no  murder,  and  which  threat- 
ened the  overturn  of  all  public  order,  than  to  confute  errors  in  doc- 
trines of  faith.  Still  Gerson  somewhat  modified  these  statements,  out 
of  respect  to  the  authority  of  the  pope,  by  adding,  that  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  pope  might  perhaps  admit  of  another  interpretation,  and 
that  the  pope  himself  would  best  ward  off  such  charges,  by  a  decided 
condemnation  of  such  practical  errors. 

At  the  council  of  Constance,  the  next  general  council  was  appoint- 
ed to  meet,  five  years  later,  at  Pa  via.  Accordingly  such  a  council 
was  actually  opened  there,  in  the  year  142.3  ;  but  on  account  of  the 
spread  of  the  pestilence  called  the  Black  Death,  it  was  dissolved  and 
transferred  to  Siena.  But  at  Siena,  also,  only  a  few  sessions  were 
held  ;  and  on  the  pretence  that  the  small  number  of  prelates  assem- 
bled did  not  authorize  the  continuance  of  the  council,  in  conformity 
with  the  determination  of  the  council  of  Constance,  the  next  meeting 
was  appointed  to  be  held  seven  years  later,  in  the  year  1431,  at 
Basle.  Pope  Martin  V.  nominated  already  as  legate  to  this  council, 
and  to  preside  over  it,  the  cardinal  Juliano  Cesarini.  At  this  impor- 
tant crisis  he  died,  and  left  behind  this  weighty  business  for  his  succes- 
sor Eugene  IV.  Cardinal  Cesarini  had  also  received  from  the  late 
pope  the  commission,  as  his  legate,  to  direct  the  proceedings  under- 
taken against  the  Hussites  in  Bohemia,  with  a  view  to  bring  them 
back  to  union  with  the  church.  If  we  may  credit  his  own  words,  the 
direction  of  the  council  of  Basle  which  the  pope  had  imposed  on  him, 
was  regarded  by  him  as  a  very  unwelcome  task.  In  his  letter  to 
Eugene  IV.,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  he  thus  expresses  himself: 
"  I  believe  the  whole  Roman  court  is  aware,  how  irksome  to  me  was 
that  legation  in  reference  to  the  council.  At  that  time  I  had  not  a 
visitor  to  whom  I  did  not  express  my  regret  at  the  appointment." 
He  reminds  the  pope  of  what  he  had  said  to  him  personally  on  the 
subject  when  the  latter  was  still  cardinal.  "  Willingly  as  I  went  on 
the  legation  to  Bohemia,  as  unwillingly  did  I  undertake  that  other,  on 
account  of  many  things  which  I  then  dreaded  as  to  what  might  possi- 
bly happen,  and  which  I  already  begin  to  experience  as  having  ac- 
tually taken  place."  1  From  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  the  con- 
flicting interests  of  the  reformatory  spirit  everywhere  rife  and  active, 
a  spirit  which,  especially  in  a  Swiss  city,  might  break  forth  with  more 
than  ordinary  violence,  against  the  interest  of  papal  absolutism,  it  was, 
doubtless,  easy  to  foresee  the  recurrence  of  severe  contests ;  and  Ju- 

1  Propter  multa  quae  tunc  verebar  pos-    ribus  Aeneae  Silvii,  ed.  Basil.  1571,  pag 
se   accidere,   quae  jam    experiri   incipio.     64  sq. 
Epistola  Juliani  ad  Eugenium  IV.  in  ope- 


BEGINNING   OF   THE   COUNCIL   OF   BASLE. — CESARINI.  129 

Ean  might  fear  that  lie  would  become  entangled  in  them.  The  busi- 
ness in  Bohemia  would  be  easier  for  him,  where  the  whole  was  re- 
duced to  the  simple  point  of  a  contest  between  an  heretical  tendency 
and  the  ruling  church.  While  he  was  tarrying  at  Nuremberg  he 
received  the  news  of  Martin's  death  and  of  the  new  government  of 
Eugene.  He  now  besought  the  new  pope,  by  letter  after  letter,  to 
release  him  from  the  commission  given  him  by  Pope  Martin,  and  ap- 
point some  other  person  as  president  of  the  council.  He  then  tra- 
velled further  about  in  Germany,  preaching  the  crusade  against  the 
Bohemians.  After  this  he  returned  to  Nuremberg,  where  he  received 
from  the  pope  his  commission  to  repair  to  Basle,  and  take  upon  him- 
self the  charge  of  presiding  over  the  council.  As  he  heard,  however, 
that  only  a  few  prelates  had  as  yet  arrived  at  Basle,  and  as  his  pre- 
sence in  Bohemia  seemed  to  him  of  more  importance,  he  adopted  the 
expedient  of  appointing  two  ecclesiastics,  John  of  Bilombar  and  John 
of  Ragusio,  as  his  representatives  for  the  present  to  preside  at  the 
council,  promising  himself  that,  as  soon  as  the  Bohemian  affair  permit- 
ted, he  would  repair  to  Basle  and  take  the  presidency  upon  himself. 
Several  causes,  however,  conspired,  after  he  had  formed  this  resolu- 
tion, to  induce  him  to  alter  his  mind  and  to  proceed  immediately  to 
Basle.  The  unhappy  issue  of  the  campaign  in  Bohemia,  and  the 
dangers  that  threatened  the  adjacent  borders  of  Germany,  created  a 
wish  for  the  most  energetic  measures  to  renew  the  war,  and  the  coun- 
cil of  Basle  might  furnish  the  best  opportunity  for  bringing  about  a 
combined  effort  to  promote  this  object.  Furthermore,  Cesarini  had 
been  led  to  observe,  by  the  representations  of  the  Bohemian  nobles, 
that  the  Hussite  affair  could  not  be  disposed  of  by  violent  measures, 
but  that  far  more  was  to  be  hoped  for  from  peaceful  negotiations  ;  but 
these  also  could  be  most  conveniently  managed  by  the  general  coun- 
cil of  Basle.  His  subsequent  journey  through  Germany  served  still 
more  to  convince  the  cardinal  how  necessary  a  general  council  was,  to 
satisfy  the  constantly  disappointed  expectations  of  a  reformation  of 
the  church,  to  reform  the  corrupt  clergy  who  provoked  the  indignation 
of  the  laity  more  and  more  every  day,  and,  by  giving  assurance  of 
redress  to  the  complaints  of  the  people,  to  ward  off  the  threatening 
danger  of  a  revolt  against  the  church  of  Germany.  Julian  himself,' 
in  the  above  mentioned  letter  from  Basle  addressed  to  pope  Eugene, 
says  on  this  point :  "  What  impelled  me  to  come  here,  is  the  false 
position  and  the  licentiousness  of  the  German  clergy,  owing  to  which 
the  laity  are  exasperated  beyond  measure  against  the  ecclesiastics. 
Wherefore  it  is  very  much  to  be  feared,  that  if  they  do  not  reform, 
the  laity  will,  after  the  manner  of  the  Hussites,  fall  out  with  the  whole 
body  of  the  clergy,  as  is  already  openly  threatened."  ' 

Pope  Eugene,  however,  soon  altered  his  resolution.     The  recollec- 
tions of  the  council  of  Constance  may  have  filled  him  with  apprehen- 

1  P.  66 :  Incitavit  ctiam  me  hue  venire  quod   valde   timendum  est,  nisi  se  emen- 

deformitas  et  dissolutio  cleri  Alemania?,  dent,  ne  laici   more   Hussitarum  in  totum 

ex  qua  laici  supra  mod um  irritantur  ad-  clerum  irruant,  ut  publico  dicuut. 
versus   statum    ecclesiasticura.      Propter 


130  PAPACY    AND    CHURCH    CONSTITUTION. 

sions  ;  and  he  gladly  availed  himself  of  such  pretexts  as  he  found  at 
hand,  to  remove  the  council  to  a  distance  from  a  city  which  breathed 
an  atmosphere  of  freedom,  and  -which,  from  circumstances  connected 
with  the  place,  threatened  to  excite  the  same  spirit  in  others.  He 
alleged  as  reasons,  that  the  number  of  prelates  assembled  was  so 
small,  while  the  time  fixed  for  the  opening  of  the  council  had  already 
elapsed  ;  that  the  disorders  of  war  prevented  the  meeting  of  a  greater 
number  of  prelates ;  that  the  contagion  of  the  Hussite  heresy  had 
spread  into  those  districts,  and  many  citizens  of  Basle,  infected  with 
that  spirit,  were  said  to  have  threatened  the  clergy ;  that  already, 
under  the  preceding  pope,  negotiations  had  been  opened  with  the 
Greeks  on  the  subject  of  union,  and  these  were  unwilling  to  visit  so 
distant  a  city ;  that  among  several  Italian  cities,  Bologna  had  already 
been  selected  by  them  ;  wherefore,  in  order  to  the  furtherance  of  so 
weighty  an  affair,  it  was  requisite  that  a  council  should  be  held  at 
Bologna,  and  he  promised  that  he  himself  would  open  that  council  in 
person.  But  two  general  councils  could  not  sit  at  the  same  time, 
since  they  must  interfere  with  each  other.  For  these  reasons  the 
pope  declared  it  necessary  that  the  council  of  Basle  should  be  dis- 
solved, and  appointed  another,  to  meet  in  a  year  and  half  from  that 
time,  at  Bologna.  Pie  gave  Cardinal  Julian  full  power  to  carry  this 
decree  into  effect.1 

But  this  scheme  of  the  pope  could  not  be  carried  into  effect  so  easily. 
There  had  already  arrived  at  Basle  many  free-minded  men,  especially 
from  the  lower  order  of  clergy.  Doctors  of  theology  and  of  the  canon 
law,  among  whom  we  may  mention  one  who  stood  most  prominently 
forth  as  representing  the  freer  spirit  at  the  council  of  Basle,  who  had 
expounded  the  principles  of  the  freer  ecclesiastical  law  in  a  work  enti- 
tled Coneordantia  catholica,  and  who  held  a  high  rank  in  his  times  as 
a  theologian,  philosopher,  and  mathematician  ;  Nicholas  Krebs  of  Cuss 
in  Trier,  known  by  the  name  of  Nicholas  of  Cusa,  or  Cancer  Cusanus. 
One  fact,  however,  especially  worthy  of  notice  —  one  striking  token  of 
the  reformatory  spirit,  of  the  universal  consciousness  that  an  eventual 
reformation  of  the  church  had  come  to  be  a  matter  of  urgent  necessity 
— was  this,  that  while  on  all  other  occasions  the  papal  legates  were  wont  to 
serve,  in  all  respects,  as  the  obedient  instruments  of  the  popes,  it  was 
from  Cardinal  Julian  himself  the  first  earnest  opposition  to  Pope  Eu- 
gene proceeded.  Instead  of  executing  the  above  commission,  he  sent 
to  the  pope  a  communication  in  reply,  representing  to  him  the  great 
danger  which  would  result  from  following  out  that  commission,  and 
boldly  expressing  many  plain  truths.  'k  Had  I  —  he  writes  2  —  been 
present  at  the  Roman  court  at  that  time  (when  the  pope  came  to  the 
resolution  of  dissolving  the  council) ,  and  could  I  have  known  there  the 
dangers,  which  here  perhaps  (or  not  perhaps)  are  impending,  you  cer- 
tainly would  not  have  come  with  such  a  message,  the  very  report  of 
which  has  already  excited  much  scandal  and  great  uneasiness.    What, 

1  Raynaldi  annales  (Lucae  1752)  torn.         2  See  the  letter  cited  on  p.  36. 
IX,  ad  ann.  1431,  Nr.  20,  21,  p.  104,  105. 


BEGINNING    OF    THE    COUNCIL    OF    BASLE. CESARINI.  131 

then,  may  we  conclude,  will  happen,  should  the  commission  be  exe- 
cuted ?  How  mach  more  advisable  it  had  been  to  have  intimated  this 
scheme  to  me,  who  am  here  in  the  midst  of  the  scene  ;  then,  informed 
of  the  whole  state  of  the  case,  you  could  have  made  up  your  mind 
more  maturely.  How,  indeed,  is  it  possible  to  consult  and  decide 
rightly,  if  the  matter  to  be  decided  is  not  known  in  all  its  essential 
circumstances.  Let  your  Holiness  patiently  listen,  whilst  I  state  what 
troubles  have  arisen  here,  and  what  imminent  danger  threatens  ruin  to 
the  faith.  What  would  the  heretics  say,  should  the  council  be  dissolved  ? 
Would  they  not  exult  over  ours,  and  behave  themselves  more  proudly 
than  ever  ?  Would  not  the  church  confess  that  she  has  been  overcome, 
since  she  ventured  not  to  await  the  coming  of  those  who  have  been 
summoned  (the  Bohemian  deputies  invited  to  negotiation)  ?  0  how 
great  would  be  the  shame  brought  on  the  Christian  faith  here  !  Would 
not  men  believe  they  saw  in  it  the  finger  of  God  ?  Armed  troops  have 
often  fled  before  them  ;  but  now  the  universal  church  herself  also  flies  ! 
They  cannot  be  overcome,  then,  either  by  weapons  or  by  arguments  ! 
What  would  the  whole  world  say,  on  hearing  of  this  ?  Will  they  not 
say,  the  clergy  are  incapable  of  amendment,  and  are  determined  to 
stick  in  their  mire  ?  So  many  councils  have  been  held  in  our  days,  and 
no  reformation  has  resulted  from  one  of  them.  The  nations  were  ex- 
pecting that  from  this  council  some  fruit  would  come.  But  if  it  shall 
be  thus  dissolved,  it  will  be  said,  that  we  have  trifled  with  God  and 
man.  And  as  no  remaining  hope  of  our  amendment  will  exist,  the  laity 
will,  with  good  reason,  set  upon  us  as  the  Hussites  have  done  ;  and  in 
truth  rumors  to  that  effect  are  already  afloat.  The  minds  of  men  are 
full  of  mischief:  they  already  begin  to  spew  out  the  poison  that  is  to 
bring  death  to  us.  They  will  think  that  they  do  God  an  acceptable 
service,  in  assassinating  or  robbing  ecclesiastics.  Because  these  will 
seem  to  be  sunk  in  the  lowest  depths  of  sin,  they  will  be  hateful  to  God 
and  men  ;  and  the  slight  reverence  which  is  paid  them  even  now,  will 
then  vanish  entirely.  Thi3  council  was  one  means  still,  by  which  the 
people  of  the  world  could  be  in  some  measure  restrained  ;  but  when 
they  see  every  hope  dashed  to  the  ground,  they  will  let  loose  the  reins 
and  persecute  us  openly.  Alas  !  what  honor  is  it  which  is  to  accrue  to 
the  Roman  court  for  dissolving  a  council  assembled  for  the  reformation 
of  the  church  !  Assuredly,  will  all  the  odium,  all  the  guilt  and  shame 
fall  back  on  them  ;  inasmuch  as  they  were  the  first  occasion  of  so  great 
an  evil,  and  carried  it  to  a  higher  pitch.  0,  holy  father  !  far  be  it  from 
me  that  you  should  be  liable  to  be  called  the  cause  of  so  great  evil  ! 
At  your  hands  will  be  demanded  the  blood  of  those  that  perish !  Of  all, 
even  to  the  last  farthing,  you  must  render  an  account  on  that  day. 
What  will  you  say  then?  What  reason  will  you  b«  able  to  adduce? 
If  God  threatens  so  terrible  a  sentence  upon  those  who  offend  even  the 
least  ones  in  the  church,  what  shall  be  done  when  offence  is  given  to 
the  whole  church  ?  "  "  And  —  he  says  afterwards —  although,  in  case 
the  council  remains  in  session,  none  of  the  good  described  should  be  the 
result,  still  however,  if  it  be  dissolved,  all  will  say,  If  the  council  had 
not  been  dissolved,  so  many  and  so  great  benefits  would  have  resulted 
from  it.     And  the  responsibility  for  all  this  will  be   thrown  on  your 


182  PAPACY    AND     CHURCH     CONSTITUTION. 

holiness,  and  never  will  you  be  able  to  get  rid  of  the  stigma.     And  al- 
though it  is  said,  that  such  a  prorogation  and  removal  is  made  for  a 
good  end,  to  the  end  that,  at  another  place,  if  your  holiness  should  be 
present  in  person,  still   greater  good  might  be  effected,   still  nobody 
will  believe  it  ;  because,  they  say,  We  were  cheated  at  the  council  of 
Siena  ;  and  so  we  have  been  at  this  also.     A  legate  was  sent,  bulls 
were  sent,  and  yet  a  change  of  the  place  and  a  delay  of  the  time  is 
sought  !     The  heretics  should  be  asked,  whether  they  too  are  willing 
to  suspend,  for  a  year  and  a  half,  the  spreading  of  their  poison.    They 
also  m\\o  have  been  scandalized  by  the  ugly  lives  of  the  clergy  should 
be   asked,  whether   they  will  not  be  scandalized  in  the  meanwhile. 
Every  day  the  abuses  among  the  clergy  give  occasion  of  offence,  and 
yet  shall  the  remedy  be  put  off?    Let  all  be  done  now,  that  can  be  dono. 
What  remains,  may  be  deferred  another  year  and  a  half.     I  fear,  that 
ere  another  year  and  half  have  elapsed,  unless  the  thing  is  provided  for 
in  some  other  way,  t'he  major  part  of  the  German  clergy  will  be   de- 
stroyed."    He   reminds  the   pope  of  the   commission  given  to  him  in 
reference  to  this  council,  and  goes  on  to  say  :  "  If  your  holiness  had 
dreamt  of  dissolving  this  council  so  soon,  it  would  have  been  better  not 
to  have  begun  it.    What  does  your  holiness  fear,  as   you  have  lived  so 
uprightly,  that  others  rather  have  occasion  to  fear  yon,  than  you  to 
fear  them  ?  "     He  then  goes  on  to  refute  the  other  reaons  brought  for- 
ward by  the  pope.     If  the  pope  himself  could  not  come,  on  account  of 
illness,  he  could  nominate  representatives.    This  was  not  the  first  coun- 
cil that  had  been  held  without  the  presence  of  the  pope.     As  to  the 
safety  of  the  place,  nothing  was  to  be  feared  on  that  score.     The  citi- 
zens of  Basle  had  promised  in  every  form,  as  had  been  lately  done  at 
Constance,  to  defend  the  council  against  every  one.    As  from  so  many 
quarters  complaints  had  arisen,  that  the  superfluity  of  worldly  goods 
had   occasioned   the   corruption  of  the   clergy,  and  many  voices  had 
been  heard  to  assert  that  the  clergy  must  return  back  to  their  original 
poverty,  in  order  to  become  free  from  worldliness,  so  a  solicitude  might 
here  and  there  be  created,  lest  the  reformatory  spirit  of  a  council  might 
lead  to   the  determination  of  depriving  the  clergy  of  all  their  wordly 
possessions.     In  reference  to  such  a  solicitude,  Julian  remarks  :  "If 
this  council   did  not  consist  of  men  of  the   church,   such   a   solicitude 
might  perhaps   have  some   foundation.     But  what  clergyman   would 
agree  to  any  such  resolution  ?     Not  one.     Not  because  it  would  be 
contrary  to  the  faith  only,  but  contrary  also  to  their  own  interests.   What 
laymen  would  agree  to  it  ?    None,  or  very  few.     And  if  some  princes 
should  perhaps  send   delegates  to  the  council,  they  would  generally 
send   ecclesiastics,  noways  disposed  to  agree  to  any  such  resolution. 
And  the  few  laymen,  who  might  appear  there,  would  find  it  impossible 
to  get  a  hearing  when  affairs  relating  to  the  church  were  in  discussion. 
And  I  scarcely  believe  that  among  them  all  there  would  be  present  ten 
secular  lords  in  person  ;  perhaps  not  five.     Then  I  do  not  believe  that 
this  council  will  prove  to  be  a  greater  one  than  that  at  Constance,  or 
that  at  Pisa  ;  and  yet  at  neither  of  these  councils  was  this  question 
introduced.     The  Holy  Ghost  had  never  permitted  anything  contrary 
to  the  faith  to  be  determined  at  any  council ;  why  then  was  a  different 


BEGINNING    OF    THE    COUNCIL    OF    BASLE. — CESARINI.  133 

result  to  he  apprehended  from  this  council  at  Basle  ?  It  betrayed  a 
■want  of  confidence  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Ihen  he  says  :  "  But  I  fear  the 
same  will  happen  to  us  that  happened  to  the  Jews,  who  said :  The  Ro- 
mans will  come  and  take  away  our  place  and  nation.  Thus,  by  a 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  may  it  also  turn  out  with  us  ;  because  we 
are  not  willing  that  a  council  should  be  held,  we  shall  lose  our  divine 
goods.  And  would  we  may  not  also  lose  body  and  soul  together. 
When  God  has  determined  to  send  a  calamity  on  a  people,  he  first  so 
orders  it  that  the  danger  is  not  understood  and  not  regarded.  So  it 
seems  to  stand  at  present  with  the  men  of  the  church,  whom  I  often 
accuse  of  blindness  :  they  see  the  fire,  and  yet  rush  headlong  into  it." 
"  Never  —  says  he —  would  any  council  have  been  held,  if  such  fear 
had  seized  the  hearts  of  our  fathers,  as  has  taken  possession  of  ours." 
He  then  lays  before  the  pope  another  well  grounded  cause  for  anxiety  ; 
for,  as  it  was  quite  possible  that  the  council  of  Basle  would  not  consent 
either  to  the  removal  or  to  the  prorogation  of  the  council,  a  new 
schism  might  be  the  consequence.  It  had  been  declared  already,  that 
the  pope's  course  stood  in  direct  contradiction  with  the  principles  ex- 
pressed at  the  council  of  Constance.  Men  seemed,  moreover,  to  pro- 
test in  the  strongest  terms  against  it ;  had  said  that  to  do  anything  of 
that  sort  was  the  same  as  to  prevent  the  extirpation  of  heresies,  the 
reformation  of  manners,  the  repose  of  the  Christian  people  ;  and  con- 
sequently the  same  as  to  promote  heresies,  war,  and  hatred.  The 
pope  had  given,  as  a  reason  for  the  measure  he  proposed,  the 
negotiations  of  union  with  the  Greeks.  To  this  the  cardinal  re- 
plies :  It  was  looked  upon  as  a  great  folly,  that  on  account  of  the  un- 
certain project  of  bringing  back  the  Greeks  to  church  union,  the  now 
and  ever  faithful  Germany  should  be  left  to  fall  into  the  heresy  of  the 
Bohemians.  For  it  was  said,  this  was  greatly  to  be  feared,  unless 
some  remedy  should  be  speedily  applied  ;  and  that  that  song  about 
the  Greeks  had  been  already  sung  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  was 
every  year  sung  over  again.  Both  might  be  done,  being  good  things  ; 
the  first  now,  at  a  fixed  and  settled  time  ;  the  other,  a  year  and  a  half 
from  now  ;  and  all  would  very  gladly  afterwards  come  and  attend  the 
proposed  second  council.  He  entreated  the  pope  at  least  to  put  off  the 
execution  of  this  step  until  July.  Meantime,  the  now  existing  mis- 
chiefs and  grievances  would  be  removed,  the  call  of  the  Hussites  to 
the  council,  and  the  preparations  for  the  war  with  the  Bohemians,  would 
no  longer  stand  in  the  way  ;  for  by  that  time  everything  would  be 
finished.  Many  arrangements  might,  during  the  same  time,  be  made 
for  the  reformation  of  the  German  clergy,  and  published  in  Germany  ; 
and  thus  something  would  be  done  ;  and  nothing  could  be  laid  to  the 
charge  ot  the  pope  ;  and  that  which,  at  the  present  time,  would  only 
give  offence,  and  could  effect  no  good  object  whatever,  might  then 
be  done  with  more  honor.  He  assures  the  pope,  that  all  his  faithful 
servants  felt  greatly  troubled  about  this  matter,  especially  the  arch- 
bishops of  Trier  and  of  Regensburg,  who  were  then  present  in  Basle. 
It  seemed  to  them  all  that  a  lasting  disgrace  would  fasten  itself 
upon  the  pope  and  the  Roman  court. 
vol.  v.  12 


SECTION   SECOND. 


HISTOEY  OF  THEOLOGY  AND  DOCTEINE. 


I.  Movements  towards  Reform  in   England. 


That  the  greater  freedom  of  thought  resulting  from  the  reaction 
against  the  church  theocratic  system  had  its  first  beginning  in  Eng- 
land, is  to  be  attributed  to  various  causes  which  prepared  the  way  for 
such  an  event.  The  high  pretensions  of  the  hierarchy  since  the  time  of 
Innocent  III.,  who  sought  to  make  the  kings  of  England  his  vassals, 
had,  in  this  country,  reached  their  acme ;  and  for  this  very  reason  the 
nation  awakened  to  the  consciousness  of  independence,  the  advocates 
of  its  rights,  its  government,  and  the  free  hearted  men  among  its  clergy 
were  aroused  to  opposition.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  bishop  Robert 
Grosshead,  or  Capito  of  Lincoln,  had  set  an  example  of  courageous  re- 
sistance to  that  arbitrary  will  of  the  popes  in  disposing  of  church  offices, 
which  was  so  fertile  a  source  of  corruption  ;  and  in  his  writings  were 
scattered  many  seminal  principles  of  reformatory  truths,  which  long 
continued  to  operate.  It  is  apparent  that  the  works  of  this  man,  who, 
under  the  name  of  Lincolniensis,  held  a  distinguished  rank  among  the 
scholastic  theologians,  were  afterwards  diligently  studied  by  the  party 
of  Wicklif  in  England  and  of  Huss  in  Bohemia  ;  and  these  writings 
seem  to  have  had  great  influence  in  exciting  a  mode  of  thinking  favor- 
able to  reform.  Next  after  this  distinguished  man  followed  that  pro- 
found and  original  thinker,  Roger  Bacon,  whose  whole  mode  of  thinking 
was  also  calculated  to  awaken  a  freer  spirit.  The  contest  betwixt  the 
mendicant  friars — an  order  which  spread,  especially  in  England,  with 
alarming  rapidit}'- — and  the  University  of  Oxford  and  the  parish  priests, 
who  saw  their  rights  encroached  upon  by  the  spiritual  labors  of  these 
monks,  had  in  like  manner  contributed  to  make  men  conscious  of  the 
abuses  of  the  dominant  church  system,  and  to  provoke  attacks  upon  it. 
In  this  contest,  Archbishop  Richard  of  Armagh  distinguished  himself, 
as  a  forerunner  of  Wicklif,  by  his  freedom  of  thought  ;  and  he  is  often 
cited  under  the  name  of  Richard  Armacanus,  as  a  witness  in  favor  of 
the  freer  spirit,  in  the  contest  with  the  mendicant  orders.  There  arose 
in  the  English  parliament,  under  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  a  spirit  of 
earnest  zeal  for  the  prerogatives  of  the  state,  and  against  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  pope  upon  its  rights  and  its  independence.     Under  such 


MOVEMENTS   TOWARDS   REFORM    IN    ENGLAND.  135 

circumstances  and  influences,  appeared  the  English  reformer  of  whom 
we  are  now  to  speak. 

John  Wicklif  was  born  in  the  year  1324  in  the  village  of  Wycliffe, 
(whence  according  to  the  custom  of  this  age  he  received  his  name)  in 
the  county  of  York,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Richmond.  He  studied 
philosophy  and  theology  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  obtained 
there  an  academical  degree.  He  soon  distinguished  himself  by  his 
mental  gifts,  his  freedom  of  mind,  his  zeal  for  learning,  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  church,  and  the  religious  interests  of  the  people.  In  his 
pervading  practical  bent,  we  recognize  a  peculiarity  of  the  English 
mind,  which  has  constantly  been  preserved.  But  to  this  was  joined 
in  the  case  of  Wicklif  an  original  speculative  element ;  an  element 
which  in  these  times  was  also  especially  developed  among  the  English, 
though  at  a  later  period  it  retired  more  into  the  back  ground.  He 
subsequently  occupied  an  important  place  in  the  philosophical  school 
of  the  realists,  which  maintained  a  fierce  contest  with  the  nominalism 
that  had  revived  since  the  time  of  William  Occam.  By  his  book  "  On 
the  reality  of  universal  conceptions,"  De  universalibus  realibus,  he 
had  created  an  important  epoch  extending  into  the  fifteenth  century ; 
and  we  shall  perceive  how  closely  combined  together  in  him  were  the 
philosophical  and  the  theological  elements,  how  much  his  theological 
opinions  were  influenced  by  his  realism.  Bold  in  his  practical  bear- 
ing, never  shrinking  from  any  of  the  consequences  resulting  from  the 
principles  which  he  advocated,  he  exhibited  the  same  boldness  and  the 
same  consistency  in  the  manner  also  in  which  he  carried  out  his  specu- 
lative conclusions.  By  his  meditations  on  the  sad  condition  of  the 
church  in  his  time  he  was  led  to  study  the  prophecies  which  came  from, 
or  were  ascribed  to  the  abbot  Joachim,  and  with  which  the  men  who 
longed  after  a  regeneration  of  the  church  busied  themselves  a  good 
deal  at  that  time  ;  and  thus  arose  the  first  work  in  which  he  appeared 
before  the  public  and  expressed  his  views  on  the  corruption  of  the  church. 
This  work,  composed  in  the  English  language,  and  intitled, "  On  the  last 
times  of  the  church,"  has  lately  appeared  by  itself  in  a  new  edition.  At 
first  Wicklif  in  his  reformatory  tendency  found  a  friend  in  the  primate 
of  the  English  church,  Islep,  archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  latter,  who 
had  been  Wicklif 's  friend  at  the  university,  founded  in  1631,  at  the  uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  the  college  of  Canterbury  Hall ;  which  was  to  consist  of 
eleven  students  under  a  master  as  their  overseer  (tutor.)  Eight  of  these 
students  were  at  first  secular  clergymen,  the  three  others,  monks  ;  and 
he  appointed  Woodhall,  a  monk,  overseer.1  The  latter  seems  to  have 
been  a  turbulent,  quarrelsome  man,  and  fomented  discord  between  the 
secular  clergy  and  the  monks,  who,  as  a  general  thing,  could  never 
easily  live  on  good  terms  with  one  another.  This  led  the  archbishop, 
in  the  year  1363,  to  terminate  the  controversy,  by  declaring  in  favor 
of  the  seculars,  expelling  the  monks,  and  appointing  Wicklif,  —  whom  he 
characterized  in  the  installation,  as  a  man  in  whose   circumspection, 

1  Lewis,  history  of  the  life  and  suffer-  (A  new  edition,  corrected  and  enlarged  hy 
ings  of  J.  Wiclif,  London,  1720,  p.  8  sq.    the  author,  Oxford.  1820.  p.  9  sq.) 


186  HISTORY    OF    THEODOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

fidelity  and  activity  he  had  the  utmost  confidence,  and  to  whom  he 
gave  this  post  on  account  of  his  honorable  deportment  and  his  learn- 
ing—  master  of  the  college.  In  the  year  1366,  however,  Islep  died  ; 
and  a  man  of  an  altogether  different  way  of  thinking,  Simon  Langham, 
heretofore  bishop  of  Ely,  who,  having  been  educated  among  the  monks, 
was  their  friend,  succeeded  him.  When  the  monks  who  had  been  ex- 
pelled from  the  college  brought  their  complaints  before  Langham,  he 
restored  them,  and  Wicklif  lost  his  place.  Thinking  himself  wronged, 
Wicklif  appealed  to  the  Roman  chancery.  After  the  usual  fashion 
at  the  court  of  Avignon,  the  cause  met  with  delays.  In  the  mean- 
time, Wicklif  had  openly  taken  his  stand  on  a  certain  question  in  a 
way,  Tjjhich  was  not  calculated  to  make  an  impression  which  would  be 
very  favorable  to  him  at  that  court.  Pope  Urban  V.  had,  in  the  year 
1365,  demanded  a  thousand  marks  as  quit  rent,  by  virtue  of  the  feu- 
dal relation  in  which  the  English  realm  under  king  John  Sansterre  had 
placed  itself  to  the  popes.1  The  English  parliament  declared,  that 
King  John  had  violated  his  oath,  in  consenting  to  surrender  so  much 
of  the  independence  of  the  state  for  the  purpose  of  paying  such  a  tri- 
bute ;  for  that  King  John  was  not  authorized,  without  the  concurrence 
of  the  parliament,  to  place  himself  in  any  such  relation  to  the  pope. 
Out  of  this  arose  a  controversy.  One  of  the  mendicant  friars  wrote 
in  defence  of  the  pope's  cause ;  but  Wicklif  appeared  against  him. 
He  expressed  himself  with  great  freedom  in  his  paper  on  this  subject.2 
He  attributed  to  the  king  the  right,  not  only  in  concurrence  with  his 
parliament  to  repudiate  that  quit  rent,  but  also  to  bring  the  clergy,  in 
civil  suits,  before  a  secular  court,  to  deprive  them  of  any  excessive 
superfluity  of  worldly  goods ;  since  this,  although  contrary,  no  doubt, 
to  many  ecclesiastical  laws,  was  still  grounded,  however,  in  the  ancient 
practice  of  the  English  realm,  in  the  constitution  of  the  state,  in  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  in  Holy  Scripture.  We  here  perceive  already 
the  early  bent  of  the  man,  who  made  the  sacred  scriptures  the  ulti- 
mate standard  of  all  law,  and  who  afterwards  declared  it  to  be  the 
great  problem  of  church  evolution,  to  reform  everything  according  to 
the  principles  therein  contained  ;  as  it  was,  in  fact,  his  endeavors  to 
do  this  which  procured  for  him  the  title  of  doctor  evangelieus.  Such 
a  procedure  of  Wicklif  could  not  but  contribute,  in  cooperation  with 
the  influence  of  the  monks  of  Avignon,  to  bring  about  an  adverse 
decision  of  his  process  at  that  court.  So  much  the  more,  however,  did  he 
by  this  step  recommend  himself  to  those  who  stood  up  for  the  prerogatives 
cf  the  state.  They  were  at  no  loss  to  understand  how  useful  to  their 
cause  a  man  of  such  zeal,  such  courage,and  such  talents  might  prove,  and 
were  therefore  the  more  inclined  to  give  him  their  support  in  his  bolder 
attacks  on  the  hierarchy.  He  was  made  chaplain  to  the  king  ; 3  and 
he  attracted  in  particular  the  attention  of  the  king's  brother,  the  pow- 
erful duke  of  Lancaster.  His  connection  with  this  duke  turned  out 
to  be  of  great  moment  to  Wicklif  in  his  later  contests.     In   the  year 

1  Vaughan,  life  and  opinions  of  Iohnde        2  Ibid.  p.  270.  ' 
Wycliife,  Lond.  1828,  torn.  I,  p.  264  sq.  3  Vaughan.  torn.  I,  p.  277. 


WICKLIF    A    PATRIOTIC    OPPONENT   OF    ROME.  137 

1072  he1  was  made  doctor  of  theology,  and  now  acquired  a  mighty- 
influence  as  well  by  his  lectures  as  by  his  writings.  He  daily  took 
still  stronger  ground  against  the  corruptions  of  the  church,  and  was 
carried  along  from  one  step  to  another  in  his  progress  as  a  reformer. 
His  polemics  were  aimed  particularly  against  the  mendicant  monks. 
He  was  enabled,  at  first,  to  attach  himself  to  a  general  movement 
of  reform,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  the  government  and  the  parlia- 
ment itself;  and  it  was  well  understood  on  that  side  how  to  turn  his 
talents  to  account.  He  had  already  expressed  in  various  ways  his 
complaints  of  the  extortions  practised  by  the  Roman  court  on  the 
churches,  of  its  arbitrary  interferences  in  church  elections,  its  prac- 
tice of  conferring  high  offices  in  the  church  on  Italians  who  were  unfit 
for  the  spiritual  calling,  and  ignorant  of  the  language  and  customs  of 
the  country.  After  an  effort  had  vainly  been  made  to  remove  these 
grievances  by  negotiation  with  Pope  Gregory  XL,  an  embassy  com- 
posed of  seven  persons  was  sent  to  the  pope  in  the  year  1374  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  this  object,  and  Wicklif  was  one  of  the  seven.2 
This  embassy  did  not  visit  the  seat  of  the  papacy,  but  met  the  papal 
nuncios  at  Bruges.  The  negotiations  lasted  two  years  ;  and  owing, 
doubtless,  to  the  mixing  in  of  their  own  selfish  interests  by  one  or  two 
English  bishops,  it  so  happened  that  much  less  was  accomplished  than 
had  been  intended  at  the  outset.  The  share  which  Wicklif  took  in 
these  negotiations  seems  not  to  have  been  without  influence  on  his  de- 
velopment as  a  reformer,  since  he  was  thus  enabled  to  obtain  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  chancery,  of  the  cor- 
ruptions springing  from  that  quarter,  and  of  the  intrigues  prevailing 
there  ;  and  was  led  to  examine  more  closely  into  the  rights  of  the 
papacy,  and  to  come  out  more  vehemently  in  opposition  to  it  as  the 
principal  cause  of  the  corruption  in  the  church.  He  came  to  the  con- 
viction that  the  papacy  had  not  its  origin  in  divine  right ;  that  the 
church  stood  in  no  need  of  a  visible  head.  He  spoke  and  wrote 
against  the  worldly  spirit  of  the  papacy,  and  its  hurtful  influence.  He 
was  wont  to  call  the  pope  antichrist,  "  the  proud  worldly  priest  of 
Rome,"3  "  the  most  cursed  of  clippers  and  purse-kervers."  He  says 
in  one  of  his  papers,4  "  The  pope  and  his  collectors  draw  from  our 
country  what  should  serve  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  and  many  thou- 
sand marks  from  the  king's  treasury  for  sacraments  and  spiritual 
things  "  —  which  is  aimed  against  the  simony  encouraged  and  promoted 
at  Rome.  "And  certainly  —  says  he  —  though  our  realm  had  a  huge 
hill  of  gold,  and  no  man  took  therefrom  but  this  proud  worldly  priest's 
collector,  in  process  of  time  the  hill  would  be  spent ;  for  he  is  ever 
taking  money  out  of  our  land,  and  sends  nothing  back  but  God's  curse 
for  his  simony,  and  some  accursed  clerk  of  Antichrist  to  rob  the  land 
still  more  for  wrongful  privileges,  or  else  leave  to  do  God's  will,  that 
men  should  do  without  his  leave,  and  buying  and  selling,  etc.5 

'  Lewis,  p.  18,  (newed.  p.  21.)  *  Lewis,  p.  32,  (n.  ed.  37.) 

2  Ibid.  p.  29  s-q.  (n.  ed.  p.  33  sq.)  5  Ibid.  And  certcs  tho  our  rewme  had 

3  Ibid.  p.  32  (n.  ed.  37.)  -an  huge  hill  of  gold,  and  never  other  man 

12* 


138  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

Already,  in  these  first  public  acts  of  "Wicklif,  we  recognize  princi- 
ples which  he  did  but  still  further  unfold  in  all  his  subsequent  labors  as 
a  reformer.  It  was  to  the  cupidity  of  the  church  that  led  her  to  seize  up- 
on a  foreign  secular  province,  to  the  superfluity  of  worldly  goods  in  the 
hands  of  the  clergy,  that  he  felt  compelled  to  trace  the  corruption  in 
the  church.  The  aim  of  his  efforts  was  to  bring  the  clergy  to  live  wholly 
to  their  spiritual  vocation.  They  were,  above  all,  to  follow  the  pat- 
tern of  Christ  in  poverty,  selfdenial,  and  renunciation  of  the  world. 
The  example  of  their  lives  should  give  emphasis  to  their  preaching. 
Constantly  hovering  before  the  mind  of  Wicklif  was  that  image  of  the 
apostles  preaching  the  gospel  in  poverty  ;  and  that  other  picture  which, 
ever  since  the  time  of  Arnold  of  Brescia,  had  been  so  often  held  up  by 
Apostolicals,  Franciscans,  Waldenses,  of  the  worldliness,  pomp,  and 
luxury  of  the  corrupt  clergy.  Again,  he  insisted  that  the  clergy,  car- 
ing only  for  the  good  of  their  flocks,  should  be  content  to  receive  from 
them  whatever  might  be  necessary  for  the  supply  of  their  bodily  wants. 
He  reckoned  it  as  a  part  of  their  calling  to  stand  up  for  the  rights  of 
the  poor.  He  regarded  whatever  was  given  to  the  clergy  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  ministering  to  their  luxury,  as  so  much  taken  from  the 
j  oor.  From  the  first,  he  was  a  declared  enemy  of  the  begging-monks  ; 
as  they,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the  most  zealous  and  the  most  influ- 
ential organs  of  the  Roman  hierarchy,  which  he  attacked.  They  ap- 
peared to  him  the  chief  promoters  of  superstition,  of  the  externalization 
of  religion  into  forms  and  ceremonies,  of  the  immoral  tendencies  made 
safe  and  secure  by  false  reliances.  But  let  us  cite  his  own  words.  In 
one  of  his  pieces,  in  titled  "  A  Short  Rule  of  Life," '  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing address  to  the  ministers  of  religion  :  "  If  thou  art  a  priest,  and 
by  name  a  curate,  live  thou  a  holy  life.  Pass  other  men  in  holy  prayer, 
holy  desire,  and  holy  speaking  ;  in  counselling,  and  teaching  the  truth. 
Ever  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  let  his  gospel  and  his  praises 
be  ever  in  thy  mouth.  Let  thy  open  life  be  thus  a  true  book,  in  which 
the  soldier  and  the  layman  may  learn  how  to  serve  God  and  keep  his 
commandments.  For  the  example  of  a  good  life,  if  it  be  open  and  con- 
tinued, striketh  rude  men  much  more  than  open  preaching  with  the 
word  alone."  He  says  afterwards,  in  conclusion:  "Have  both  meat 
and  drink,  and  clothing  ;  but  the  remnant  give  truly  to  the  poor  :  to 
those  who  have  freely  wrought,  but  who  now  may  not  labor,  from  fee- 
bleness or  sickness  ;  and  thus  thou  shalt  be  a  true  priest,  both  to  God 
and  to  man."  He  was  by  no  means  disposed  to  lower  the  order  of  the 
clergy  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  believed  that  he 
honored  and  exalted  it,  by  exhibiting  clearly  the  true  significance  of 
their  vocation.  Thus  in  one  of  his  earlier  pieces,  addressing  himself 
to  laymen^  he  says  :  "  Thy  second  father  is  thy  spiritual  father,  who 
has  special  care  of  thy  soul,  and  thus  thou  shalt  revere  him.     Thou 

took  thereof  but  only  this  proud  worldly  rob  more  the  lond  for  wrongful  privilege, 

priest's  collector;  by  process  of  time  this  or  else  leave  to  do  God's  will,  that  men 

hill  must  be  spendecl ;  for  he  taketh  ever  shulden  do  without  hi3  lead,  and  buying 

money  out    of     our    lond,   and   sendeth  and  selling. 

nought  agen  but  God's  curse  for  his  sy-  '  Vaughan,  vol.  I,  p.  312. 

mony,  and  accursed  Antichrist's  clerk   to 


wicklif's  principles   of  reform.  1^9 

shalt  love  him  especially,  before  other  men,  and  obey  his  teaching  as 
far  as  he  teaches  God's  will.  And  thou  shalt  help,  according  to  thy 
power,  that  he  may  have  a  reasonable  sustenance  when  he  doth  well 
his  office."  But  while  it  was  generally  the  case  that  the  objective  dig- 
nity of  the  priesthood  was  chiefly  held  up  to  view  ;  while  this  was  re- 
garded as  something  inalienable,  and  represented  as  an  unconditional 
object  of  reverence  for  the  laity ;  Wicklif,  on  the  contrary,  made  the 
veneration  which  should  be  paid  to  the  clergy,  depend  on  their  personal 
worth.  The  sense  of  religion  and  the  conscience  of  the  laity  should 
no  longer  subserve  the  private  ends  of  their  spiritual  guides  ;  the  will 
of  God  should  be  more  to  them  than  all  else,  should  be  the  rule  by 
which  they  were  to  judge  even  of  their  clergy.  But  in  case  the  lat- 
ter fell  short  of  this  rule,  they  were  not  to  exalt  themselves,  but  should 
seek  in  the  first  place,  in  love  and  in  humility,  to  correct  the  clergy 
by  private  admonition.  In  the  same  treatise  he  says  :  "  If  thy  spiritual 
father  fail  in  his  office,  by  giving  evil  example,  and  in  ceasing  to  teach 
God's  law,  thou  art  bound  to  have  great  sorrow  on  that  account,  and 
to  tell,  meekly  and  charitably,  his  fault  to  him,  between  thee  and  him 
alone."  He  remonstrated  against  that  worldly  spirit  of  the  clergy 
which  led  them  to  engage  in  business  foreign  to  their  calling  :  "  Nei- 
ther prelates  —  he  says  —  nor  doctors,  priests,  nor  deacons,  should 
hold  secular  offices  ;  that  is,  those  of  chancery,  treasury,  privy-seal, 
and  other  such  secular  offices  in  the  exchequer,  —  more  especially 
while  secular  men  are  sufficient  to  do  such  offices."  In  another  trea- 
tise he  complains  that  "  prelates  and  great  religious  possessioners  are 
so  occupied  in  heart  about  worldly  lordships  and  with  plans  of  busi- 
ness, that  no  habit  of  devotion,  of  praying,  of  thoughtfulness  on  heav- 
enly things,  on  the  sins  of  their  own  heart,  or  on  those  of  other  men, 
may  be  preserved  ;  neither  may  they  be  found  studying  and  preaching 
of  the  gospel,  nor  visiting  and  comforting  of  poor  men."  In  a  manu- 
script of  "  Feigned  Contemplative  Life,"  he  says  :  "  they  resemble 
bailiffs  rather  than  bishops ; "  they  were  so  far  sunk  in  worldliness, 
that  they  could  not  rebuke  the  worldly  lives  of  others.  It  serves  to 
characterize  Wicklif's  tendency  as  a  reformer,  to  compare  it,  on  the 
one  hand,  with  the  later  development  of  the  work  of  reformation  in 
England  and  of  the  reformed  church  generally,  and  on  the  other,  with 
the  German  reformation  by  Luther  ;  and  to  notice  that  one  of  the  first 
works  of  his  as  a  reformer,  was  a  detailed  exposition  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments,2 in  which  he  contrasted  the  immoral  life  prevalent  among 
all  ranks,  in  his  time,  with  what  these  commandments  require.  We 
should  undoubtedly  keep  in  mind  what  he  tells  us  himself,  that  he  was 
led  to  do  this  by  the  ignorance  which  most  people  betrayed  of  the  deca- 
logue ;  and  that  it  was  his  design  to  counteract  a  tendency  which 
showed  greater  concern  for  the  opinions  of  men  than  the  law  of  God. 
But  at  the  same  time  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  an  inclination  to  derive 
the  whole  body  of  Christian  morality  from  the  ten  commandments,  an  in- 

1  Ibid.  p.  314.  2  Exposition  of  the  Decalogue,  Vuughan, 

vol.  I,  p.  319. 


140  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

clination  to  adopt  in  whole  the  Old.Testament  form  of  the  law,  which 
shows  itself  in  his  applying  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  to  the  Christian  ob- 
servance of  Sunday.  In  this  work  he  seems  still  to  have  clung  to  the 
prevailing  views  respecting  the  veneration  of  saints  and  of  images. 
But  in  a  homily  preached  two  years  later,1  and  after  his  return  from  the 
abovementioned  embassy  to  Bruges,  he  condemns  the  custom  of  addres- 
sing prayers  to  the  saints,  and  he  does  this  in  connection  with  a  doc- 
trine also  grounded  in  the  church  teaching  of  his  time,  that  no  man 
can  be  certain  with  regard  to  others,  any  more  than  he  can  with  regard 
to  himself,  whether  he  belongs  to  the  number  of  the  elect.  No  one 
ought  to  be  worshipped  as  a  saint,  unless  it  be  known  certainly,  by 
revelation  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  he  is  incorporated  into  the  commu- 
nity of  heaven.  He  calls  in  doubt,  also,  the  utility  of  any  such  kind  of 
worship.  It  is  characteristic  of  him,  that  he  does  not  spiritualize  the 
law  of  the  Sabbath  into  the  Christian  sense,  but  applies  it  simply  2  to 
the  particular  observance  of  one  day,  although  he  acknowledges  that, 
considered  from  the  Christian  point  of  view,  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  is  commemorative  rather  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  the 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  than  the  work  of  creation.  He  points  out, 
as  the  duties  which  distinguish  the  celebration  of  this  day,  devout 
meditation,  the  public  worship  of  God,  and  works  of  Christian  charity. 
Near  the  conclusion  of  this  commentary,  he  rebukes  that  confidence  in 
outward  things  whereby  man  would  hush  the  alarms  of  conscience. 
"  Many  think  —  says  he3  —  if  they  give  a  penny  to  a  pardoner,  they 
shall  be  forgiven  the  breaking  of  all  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
therefore  they  take  no  heed  how  they  keep  them.  But  I  say  thee,  for 
certain,  though  thou  have  priests  and  friars  to  sing  for  thee,  and  though 
thou  each  day  hear  many  masses,  and  found  chauntries  and  colleges, 
and  go  on  prilgrimages  all  thy  life,  and  give  all  thy  goods  to  pardoners, 
■all  this  shall  not  bring  thy  soul  to  heaven.  While,  if  the  commandments 
of  God  are  revered  to  the  end,  though  neither  penny  nor  half-penny  be 
possessed,  there  shall  be  everlasting  pardon  and  the  bliss  of  heaven." 
If  Wicklif,  in  these  and  many  other  instances,  where  he  places 
the  moral  element  in  strong  contrast  with  the  one-sided  bent  of 
an  outward  piety,  and  the  superstition  that  made  men  feel  secure  in 
the  service  of  sin,  so  expresses  himself,  as  if  he  seemed  to  place  his 
whole  reliance  on  good  works  ;  yet  we  must  not  forget  that  he  ever 
presupposes  the  connection  of  all  this  with  trust  on  Jesus  as  the  only 
Saviour,  and  with  the  practical  imitation  of  him  which  such  trust  im- 
plies. Accordingly,  at  the  end  of  his  commentary  he  says  :  "To  suf- 
fer for  Christ  can  be  no  hard  requirement,  since  he  has  so  greatly  suf- 
fered for  us  ;  "  and  he  commends  the  contemplation  of  the  sufferings 
through  which  apostles,  martyrs,  and  confessors  have  arrived  at  their 
present  exaltation,  as  an  inducement  to  endure  the  evils  of  the  times 
with  resignation  and  in  a  triumphant  spirit.* 

As  regards  the  second  matter,  the  mendicant  order  of  monks,  Wick- 

1  Ibid.  320  note.  a  Vaughan,  vol.  I,  p.  329. 

"  Ibid.  326.  *  Ibid.  p.  329. 


wicklif's  principles  of  reform.  141 

lif,  in  a  treatise  directed  against  them,  attacks  in  particular  their  exor- 
bitant influence  at  the  university  ;  the  arts  by  which  they  drew  over 
the  young  men  to  them.  "The  friars  —  says  he  —  drive  the  youth 
from  the  religion  of  Christ,  in  their  several  orders,  by  hypocrisy,  false- 
hood, and  theft.  For  they  say,  before  them,  that  their  particular  order 
is  holier  than  any  other,  and  that  they  shall  take  a  higher  place  in  the 
bliss  of  heaven  than  others  who  are  not  members  of  it ;  and  that  people 
of  their  order  would  never  come  to  perdition,  but  would,  on  the  day  of 
judgment,  with  Christ  judge  others.  And  thus  they  steal  away  chil- 
dren from  fathers  and  mothers,  sometimes  such  as  are  incapable  of  or- 
dination, and  sometimes  such  as,  by  the  commandment  of  God,  are 
bound  to  support  their  elders."1  "Hence  —  says  he  —  they  are 
blasphemers  of  God,  who  confidently  advise  things  of  a  doubtful  char- 
acter, which  are,  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  neither  expressly  commanded 
nor  forbidden."  He  reproaches  them  with  representing  their  private 
orders  as  perfect,  as  orders  founded  by  Christ.  But  even  on  the  sup- 
position that  some  order,  or  a  particular  foundation,  were  more  perfect 
than  ordinary  institutions,  still  they  would  be  wrong  in  their  practice  : 
for  they  could  not  know  but  it  might  prove  the  means  of  everlasting 
perdition  to  the  child  which  they  desired  so  early  to  bind  to  vows 
of  their  order,  if  it  should  be  repugnant  to  his  natural  disposition  ;  for 
it  must,  as  yet,  be  uncertain  for  what  rank  or  calling  God  had  destined 
the  child.  He  disputes  the  position,  that  such  a  way  of  living  was  the 
most  perfect  imitation  of  the  life  of  Christ ;  for  Christ  had  by  no  means 
bred  himself  to  such  kind  of  poverty  ;  he  had  not  asked  everybody 
without  distinction  to  give  him  alms,  but  received  from  Mary  Magda- 
lene and  other  pious  women  and  men  what  was  necessary  for  his  sub- 
sistence. Christ  bade  his  disciples  not  to  take  scrip  or  purse  ;  these, 
on  the  contrary,  were  used  by  the  begging-monks  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  home,  whatever  they  had  begged,  to  their  monasteries.. 
Christ  directed  his  apostles  rather  to  consider  who  were  prepared  to 
receive  the  message  of  the  gospel ;  with  such  they  were  to  eat  and 
drink,  and  not  to  go  about  from  house  to  house.  He  adverts  to  the 
example  of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  supported  himself  and  his  companions 
with  the  labor  of  his  own  hands  ;  and  sought  not  to  obtain  gold  and 
silver,  nor  apparel,  from  those  whom  he  instructed  ;  thus  instructing 
other  teachers,  by  his  example,  that  in  times  of  distress  they  should  do 
likewise.  He  says: 'If  any  would  not  work,  neither  should  he  eat.' 
lie  appeals  to  the  treatise  of  Augustin,  De  opera  31onachorum.  He 
calls  it  a  transgression  of  Christ's  command,  when,  instead  of  giving 
their  alms  to  the  poor,  the  blind,  the  lame,  or  the  halt,  men  gave  them  to 
a  set  of  hypocrites,  who  represented  themselves  as  holy  and  needy, whilst 
in  fact  they  were  robust  of  body,  rich  in  possessions,  dwelt  in  large 
houses,  owned  splendid  raiment,  made  great  banquets,  and  poss-ssod 
many  precious  stones  and  treasures. 

In  addition  to  his  duties  as  university  theologian,  Wicklif    had  also 
taken  upon  himself  the  practical  work  of  teaching  and  laboring  among 

1  Lewis,  p.  5  sq.  (new  ed.  7  sq.) 


142  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  people  whose  religious  interests  he  from  the  first  had  near  at 
heart.  In  the  year  1375  he  became  parish  priest  of  Lutterworth  in 
the  county  .of  Leicester ;  and  now  labored  alternately  as  teacher  of 
theology  at  Oxford,  and  as  preacher  and  curate  at  Lutterworth.  The 
zeal  with  which  he  discharged  his  duties  as  a  preacher  is  proved  by 
the  300  sermons  of  his  still  preserved  in  manuscript.1  He  attached 
the  highest  importance  to  the  sermon  as  a  means  of  supplying  the 
religious  wants  of  the  people.  Accordingly  he  regarded  the  attempt, 
from  higher  quarters,  to  limit  and  circumscribe  the  predicatorial  office 
as  a  thing  standing  in  direct  contrariety  to  the  life  of  Christ  and  of  the 
apostles.2  Hence  he  made  the  sermon  a  principal  thing  in  the  im- 
provements introduced  into  public  worship ;  and  endeavored  to  lead 
the  way  in  this  reform  by  his  own  example,  as  well  as  to  encourage 
the  clergy,  who  followed  him  in  their  course  of  training,  to  do  the 
same.  While  he  took  special  pains  to  get  the  hearts  of  christians 
interested  in  works  of  charity ;  in  bestowing  sympathy  and  relief  on 
the  suffering,  whether  from  age,  from  sickness  or  from  poverty  ;  in 
providing  for  all  their  bodily  wants,  yet  he  describes  it  as  a  still  nobler 
and  more  important  work  to  look  after  such  as  were  neglected  as  to 
their  religious  wants,  and  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  their  souls. 
"  Men  —  says  he  —  in  a  sermon  on  Philippians  iii,  who  love  not  the 
souls,  have  little  love  for  the  bodies  of  their  neighbors ; "  and  hence 
the  work  of  christian  instruction  is  described  as  "  the  best  service  that 
man  may  do  for  his  brother."  3  In  his  Exposition  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, the  christian  man  is  enjoined  "  to  visit  those  who  are  sick, 
or  who  are  in  trouble,  especially  those  whom  God  hath  made  needy 
by  age,  or  by  other  sickness,  as  the  feeble,  the  blind,  and  the  lame, 
who  are  in  poverty.  These  thou  shalt  relieve  with  thy  goods,  after 
thy  poAver,  and  after  their  need,  for  thus  biddeth  the  gospel."4  In 
the  letter  to  "  Simple  Priests,"  he  declares  preaching  to  be  the  great 
duty  of  their  office  :  "  for  this  Christ  enjoined  on  his  disciples  more 
than  any  other ;  by  this  he  conquered  the  world  out  of  the  fiend's 
hand."  In  an  unpublished  tract  against  the  monks2  —  he  says  — 
"  The  highest  service  that  men  can  arrive  at  on  earth  is  to  preach  the 
word  of  God.  This  service  falls  peculiarly  to  priests,  and  therefore 
God  more  straitly  demands  it  of  them.  Hereby  should  they  pro- 
duce children  to  God,  and  that  is  the  end  for  which  God  has  wedded 
the  church.  Lovely  it  might  be,  to  have  a  son  that  were  lord  of  this 
world,  but  fairer  much  it  were  to  have  a  son  in  God,  who,  as  a  member 
of  Holy  Church,  shall  ascend  to  Heaven !  And  for  this  cause  Jesus 
Christ  left  other  works,  and  occupied  himself  mostly  in  preaching  ; 
and  thus  did  his  apostles,  and  for  this  God  loved  them."  He  cites  in 
proof  the  words  of  Christ,  Luke  xi.,  28.  In  a  treatise  on  the  Feigned 
Contemplative  Life,6  he  describes  it  as  a  temptation  of  the  great  ad- 

1  Vaughan,  vol.  II,  p.  12.  3  Vaughan,  vol.  II,  p.  14. 

8  He  says  :  Nam  praedicationis  officium        *  Ibid.  p.  13. 
est  proscriptura,  et  officium  spoliandi  sub-        5  "  Contra  fratres,"  ibid.  p.  14  sq. 
ditos  est  inductum.    Dialog,  lib.  quat.  ed.        6  "  Of  a  Feigned  Contemplative  Life," 

YViitb,  Francof.  et  Lips.  1753,  p.  131.  yet  unpublished.  Ibid.  p.  19 


WICKLIF    ON    THE    OFFICE   OF    PREACHING.  143 

versary,  when  men  allow  themselves  to  be  drawn  off  by  zeal  for  the 
contemplative  life,  from  the  office  of  preaching.  "  Before  all  —  says 
he  —  we  are  bound  to  follow  Christ ;  yet  Christ  preached  the  gospel 
and  charged  his  disciples  to  do  the  same.  All  the  prophets  and  John 
the  Baptist  were  constrained  by  love  to  forsake  the  desert,  renounce 
the  contemplative  life,  and  to  preach."  "Ah,  Lord  —  he  exclaims  — 
what  cursed  spirit  of  falsehood  moveth  priests  to  close  themselves 
within  stone-walls  for  all  their  life,  since  Christ  commanded  all  his 
apostles  and  priests  to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel ?  Certainly  they  are  open  fools,  and  do  plainly  against  the  gospel ; 
and  if  they  continue  in  this  error,  are  accursed  of  God  as  perilous 
deceivers  and  heretics."  *  In  his  work  against  the  monks,  he  replies 
to  those  who  cited  the  example  of  .Mary  Magdalene  as  a  reason  for 
preferring  the  contemplative  life  :  "  The  example  might  be  pertinent 
if  the  priests  were  women,  and  if  no  command  opposed  to  a  life  of 
solitude  could  be  found  in  Scripture."  From  what  was  usually  said 
respecting  the  value  of  the  contemplative  life,  it  might  be  gathered 
"  that  Christ,  when  in  this  world,  chose  the  life  least  suited  to  it,  and 
that  he  has  obliged  all  his  priests  to  forsake  the  better  and  take  the 
worse."  "Prayer  —  he  remarks  —  is  good;  but  not  so  good  as 
preaching ;  and,  accordingly,  in  preaching,  and  also  in  praying,  in  the 
giving  of  sacraments,  the  learning  of  the  law  of  God,  and  the  render- 
ing of  a  good  example  by  purity  of  life,  in  these  should  stand  the  life 
of  a  priest."  2  Wicklif  was  of  the  opinion,  that  the  preachers  con- 
nected with  a  particular  church  were  unequal  to  the  task  of  providing 
for  the  wants  of  the  neglected  people.  The  idea  of  travelling  preach- 
ers originated  with  him.  In  vindication  of  this  method,  also,  he  ap- 
peals to  the  example  of  Christ.  "  The  gospel  —  he  says  —  relates 
how  Jesus  went  about  in  the  places  of  the  country,  both  great  and 
small,  as  in  cities  and  castles,  or  small  towns,  and  this  to  teach  us  to 
profit  generally' unto  men,  and  not  to  forbear  to  teach  to  a  people, 
because  they  are  few,  and  our  name  may  not,  in  consequence,  be 
great."  3  This  idea  of  Wicklif,  however,  as  is  evident  from  the  earlier 
history  of  the  church,  was  not  entirely  new,  but  was  traditionally  con- 
nected with  an  idea  which  had  appeared  under  various  forms  ever 
since  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 

As  other  men,  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  reform,  had,  from  the  time 
just  mentioned,  founded  spiritual  societies,  whose  members  travelled 
about  clad,  as  they  conceived  it,  after  the  manner  of  the  apostles,  to 
look  after  the  religious  needs  of  the  people  perishing  through  neglect, 
so  Wicklif  founded  a  society  of  this  sort,  constituting  his  school  in  the 
more  limited  sense,  who  called  themselves  "  poor  priests,"  and  were 
subsequently  called  Lollards,  a  name  similar  to  that  of  the  Beghards, 
which  was  also  similarly  used,  to  denote  persons  of  a  pietistic,  un- 
churchly  bent.  They  went  about  barefoot,  in  long  robes  of  a  russet 
color.4     Even  Wicklif,  as  it  seems,  was  not  wholly  free  from  the  mis- 

1  Ibid.  p.  18.  3  ibid.  p.  2.3. 

*  Ibid.  p.  19.  *  Talaribus  indutos  vestibus  de  russeto. 


114  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

take  of  apprehending  literally  the  duty  of  following  the  pattern  of  the 
apostolic  church  ;  and  from  this  point  of  view  he  might  be  led  to 
judge  too  unfavorably  of  the  arrangement  by  which  parish  priests  were 
set  over  particular  churches.  We  should  consider,  however,  that  Wick- 
lif  had  before  his  eyes  the  wicked,  arbitrary  mode  of  filling  church 
offices  in  his  time,  the  influence  of  bad  arts  and  of  simony,  and  in  con- 
nection therewith  the  neglect  of  a  great  portion  of  the  people,  for 
whose  religious  needs  no  provision  at  all  was  made  by  the  great  num- 
ber of  bad  ecclesiastics  and  monks.  There  was  some  just  warrant  in 
these  circumstances  for  the  idea  of  constituting  the  clergy  into  a  semi- 
nary for  domestic  missions,  so  that  the  members  without  feeling  them- 
selves confined  to  any  particular  spot,  might  be  ready  to  go  to  any 
place  where  they  might  be  needed,  to  help  the  people  in  their  spiritual 
distress.  We  see  this  bent  very  distinctly  manifested  in  Wicklif's 
essay  on  the  question  "  Why  poor  priests  have  no  benefices."  '  Speak- 
ing here  of  the  bad  system  of  patronage,  and  of  the  bad  management 
of  the  benefices,  he  says :  "  But  if  there  be  any  simple  man  who  de- 
sireth  to  live  well,  and  to  teach  truly  the  law  of  God,  and  despise 
pride  and  other  sins  both  of  prelates  and  other  men,  he  shall  be 
deemed  a  hypocrite,  a  new  teacher,  a  heretic,  and  not  suffered  to  come 
to  any  benefice.  If  in  any  little  poor  place  he  shall  live  a  poor  life, 
he  shall  be  so  persecuted  and  slandered,  that  he  shall  be  put  out  by 
wiles,  and  imprisoned  or  burnt. "2  He  states  that  many  great  lords,  in 
order  to  palliate  their  simony,  by  which  the  most  worthless  of  men  ob- 
tained high  offices,  pretended  that  they  did  not  want  any  money,  as  a 
price  for  the  place,  but  only  a  present,  as  for  example,  "  a  kerchief 
for  the  lady,  or  a  palfrey,  or  a  tun  of  wine.  And  when  some  lords 
would  present  a  good  man,  then  some  ladies  are  the  means  of  having 
a  dancer  presented,  or  a  tripper  on  tapits,  or  a  hunter,  or  a  hawker, 
or  a  wild  player  of  summer  gambols."  3  He  denounces  the  pre- 
lates and  lords,  who  cooperated  in  these  practices,  as  the  allies  of 
antichrist.  They  would  not  suffer  Christ's  disciples  to  teach  his  chil- 
dren the  law  of  Christ  so  as  to  save  their  souls.  And  thus  they  la- 
bored to  banish  Christ  and  his  law  out  of  his  heritage,  i.  e.  those  souls 
whom  he  redeemed,  not  with  corruptible  gold  and  silver,  but  with  the 
precious  blood  of  his  own  heart,  which  he  shed  on  the  cross  from  glow- 
ing love.  "  Now  it  is  to  escape  such  sins  —  says  Wicklif —  that  some 
poor  priests  take  no  benefices.  The  poor  priests  were  afraid  that  if 
they  received  such  particular  appointments  they  should  be  withdrawn 
thereby  from  better  employments,  from  such  as  would  bring  more  be- 
nefit to  the  church.  That  was  what  they  had  to  fear  more  than  any 
thing  else  ;  for  it  concerned  directly  their  own  persons ;  for  they  had 
received  their  whole  calling  from  God  to  help  their  brethren,  that  they 

Walsingham  hist.  angl.  in  Anglica,  Nor-  desireth  to  live  well  and  teche  truly  God's 

mannica,    Hibernica,  a  veteribus   scripta,  law,  and  despise  pride  and  other  sins  both 

Franco!'.  1603,  p.  191.  of  prelates  and  other  men,  he  shall  ben 

1  Lewis,  p.  287,  (left  out  in  the  new  holden  an  hypocrite,  a  new  teacher,  an 
edition):  Why  poor  priests  have  no  ben-  heretick,  and  not  suffered  to  come  to  any 
efices.  benefice.    L.  1.  p.  287. 

2  But  if  there  be  any  simple  man,  that        *  P.  289. 


THE    POOR    PRIESTS.  145 

might  get  to  heaven,  by  their  teaching,  their  prayers,  and  example. 
And  it  seemed  to  them  that  they  could  most  easily  fulfil  this  vocation 
by  a  general  curacy  of  christian  love  after  the  example  of  Christ  and 
the  apostles.  They  had  never  been  tied  down,  to  one  particular  place, 
like  a  chained  dog.  By  this  means  they  could  easily  deliver  them- 
selves from  danger,  and  were  enabled  to  give  most  assistance  to  their 
brethren.  So  now,  the  poor  priests,  when  persecuted  by  the  clerks  of 
antichrist,  could  flee  without  let  or  hindrance  from  one  city  to  another, 
as  Christ  commanded  in  the  gospel.  So  they  could  best  be  present  at 
once  and  lend  their  aid,  according  to  the  promptings  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
at  any  spot  where  they  were  needed.  In  this  way  priests  and  laymen, 
free  from  all  strife,  would  be  joined  together  in  love.1  Thus  some 
poor  priests  had  associated  themselves  together,  for  the  purpose  of  fol- 
lowing to  the  utmost  the  example  of  Christ  and  the  apostles ;  of  la- 
boring where  there  was  the  most  need,  as  long  as  they  still  retained 
the  vigor  of  youth,  without  condemning  other  priests,  who  faithfully 
did  their  duty. 

Wicklif,  by  these  labors,  had  gained  a  small  party  in  his  favor,  as 
as  well  as  raised  up  a  considerable  number  of  enemies.  He  well  un- 
derstood what  dangers  he  must  encounter  by  undertaking  the  work 
of  a  reformer,  how  easily  in  these  times,  a  man  might,  in  fighting 
against  the  corruptions  of  the  church,  be  called  to  suffer  martyrdom. 
He  affirms,  that  it  was  an  invention  of  hypocrisy  to  hold  that  martyr- 
dom was  no  longer  possible,  because  all  were  christians.  He  who  de- 
plares  the  truth  which  is  opposed  to  their  corruption,  to  prelates  — 
whom  he  calls  satraps  —  shall  not  escape  their  deadly  hatred  and 
may  therefore  die  as  martyrs.  "And  so  —  he  proceeds  —  we  christians 
need  not  visit  the  heathen  for  the  purpose  of  converting  them  and 
dying  as  martyrs  ;  but  let  us  but  steadfastly  preach  the  law  of  Christ, 
even  to  the  imperial  prelates,  and  straightway  there  shall  be  a  bloom- 
ing martyrdom,  if  we  hold  on  in  faith  and  patience."  2  He  intimates 
that  many,  especially  the  begging  monks,  sought  his  death.3  But 
death  could  not  terrify  him,  "for  —  says  he  —  I  know  from  the 
evangelical  faith,  that  antichrist  with  his  blows,  can  only  destroy  the 
body  ;  but  Christ,  for  whose  cause  I  fight,  can  destroy  both  soul  and 
body  in  hell.  And  I  know  that  he  will  suffer  nothing  to  be  wanting 
of  that  which  is  most  needful  for  his  servants,  when  he  has  freely 
surrendered  himself  to  a  terrible  death,  and  permitted  all  the  disciples 
who  were  dearest  to  him  to  endure  severe  torments  for  their  own  be- 
nefits The  begging  monks  are  here  mentioned  as  his  fiercest  ene- 
mies, and  they  stood  at  the  head  of  the  opposite  party.  In  the 
year  137G,  they  extracted  from  his  lectures,  writings  and  sermons, 
nineteen  propositions  which  they  marked  as  heretical,  and  sent  to  Rome, 
that  they  might  there  be  condemned.  These  propositions,  doubtless, 
corresponded  with  the  teachings  of  Wicklif,  although  when  rent  from 

1  Lewis,  p.  297.  clamant  contra  tnara  sententiara,  et  mor- 

■  Dialog,  p.  126.  tern  tuam  tnultipliciter  machinantur.  Ibid. 

3  Spedaliter  cum   tanta  multitudo  fra-  p.  189. 
trum  et  aliorum  vocatorum  Christianorum         *  Ibid.  p.  196. 

VOL.  v.  13 


146  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

the  connection  in  which  they  were  held  forth  by  him,  they  sounded 
more  harshly  than  in  their  proper  place,  and  were  liable  to  be  mis- 
apprehended. They  related  to  the  unlimited  power  of  the  pope  ; 
the  secular  possessions  of  the  church ;  the  rights  of  laymen  over 
priests  ;  the  power  of  the  keys  ;  the  conditional  validity  of  excom- 
munication. We  will  notice  the  most  remarkable  of  these  proposi- 
tions. "  That  no  political  and  temporal  rule  has  been  bestowed  in 
perpetuity  on  the  pope  and  the  prelates  ;  God  himself  could  not, 
by  his  almighty  power  bestow  such  rule  in  perpetuity  on  any  man 
and  his  posterity."1  "  That  the  perseveringly  righteous  had  not 
only  the  right  to  possess,  but  also  to  enjoy  all  earthly  things." 2 
This  is  the  doctrine  so  much  spoken  of,  that  all  right  of  property,  and 
all  power  are  things  morally  conditioned  ;  therefore  everything  here 
depends  on  the  subjective  worth  of  the  individual  —  with  sin,  is  lost 
the  title  to  possess  any  thing.  Such  assertions  it  had  been  attempted 
already  to  find  in  many  church  fathers,  and  such  positions  created  from 
this  time  onward  a  great  sensation,  and  were  particularly  made  use  of  for 
the  purpose  of  throwing  suspicion  on  the  cause  of  Wicklif,  and  after^irds 
on  that  of  Huss,  in  a  political  point  of  view.  When  such  propositions  were 
taken  literally  and  singly,  they  could  indeed  be  so  understood,  as  if 
all  right  were  thereby  reduced  to  subjective  opinion,  all  civil  power 
and  all  civil  property  made  dependant  on  the  subjective  judgment 
of  each  man,  and  uncertain  ;  and  as  if  the  watch-word  were  thus 
given  for  a  general  upturning  of  civil  society :  but  as  we  shall  see, 
Wicklif,  though  he  uses  many  blunt  and  imprudent  expressions,  guards 
sufficiently  against  any  such  misapprehensions.  He  is  speaking  simply 
of  the  religious  and  moral  point  of  view,  of  that  which  stood  valid 
in  the  sight  of  God  ;  not  of  the  political  and  juridical  point  of  view. 
"  That  when  the  church  fell  into  corruption,  the  secular  lords  had 
the  right  to  deprive  her  of  the  temporal  goods  which  she  abused."  3 
"  That  every  prelate,  and  also  the  pope,  when  he  is  wrong,  may  be 
accused,  judged,  and  imprisoned  by  his  subjects,  even  laymen."  4 
"  That  only  a  just  excommunication,  in  accordance  with  the  law  of 
Christ,  and  none  at  variance  with  that  law,  was  binding."  5  "  That  an 
unconditional  power  to  bind  and  to  loose,  not  even  God  himself  could, 
by  virtue  of  his  omnipotence,  bestow  on  any  man." 6  That  Christ 
gave  the  apostles  no  power  to  excommunicate  on  account  of  secular 
things,  but  rather  the  contrary ;  therefore  the  pope  possessed  no  such 
power."  "  Every  priest  regularly  ordained  had  power  to  administer 
all  the  sacraments,  and  also  to  bind  and  to  loose." 

Pope  Gregory  XI.  thereupon  put  forth,  in  the  year  1377,  against 
Wicklif,  three  bulls  which  he  sent  to  England  by  a  nuncio.  One 
of  these  was  addressed  to  the  university  of  Oxford,  the  other  to  the 
bishops  of  Canterbury  and  London,  the  third  to  King  Edward  III.7 
He  pronounced  sentence  of  condemnation  on  nineteen  of  Wicklif 's 

1  Article  2,  Lewis,  p.  43  (new  ed.  p.  46.)  6  Art.  15. 

2  Art.  4.  6  Art.  14. 

3  Art.  17,  p.  45  (newed.  p.  48).  7  Raynaldi  ann.  1377,  No.  4,  torn.  VII, 

4  Art.  19.  p.  294. 


WICKLIF   CONDEMNED   BY   GREGORY   XI.  147 

propositions,  under  various  qualifications.  He  marked  several  of  them 
as  agreeing,  though  not  in  words,  yet  in  sense,  with  opinions  still  ear- 
lier held  forth  by  Marsilius  of  Padua  and  John  of  Janduno,  and  con- 
demned by  Pope  John  XXII.  He  directed  the  king's  attention  par- 
ticularly to  the  fact  that  several  of  these  propositions  not  only  contra- 
dicted the  catholic  faith,  but  also  tended  to  the  subversion  of  civil  or- 
der. He  complained  that  such  doctrines  had  been  suffered  to  spread- 
so  widely.  He  commanded  that  Wicklif  should  be  thrown  into  chains 
ami  imprisoned  ;  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  have  a  hearing  in  order 
to  know  whether  he  held  forth  such  doctrines,  and  in  what  sense  ;  that 
hia  answers  should  be  reported  at  Rome,  and  the  directions  for  his  fur- 
ther treatment  should  be  waited  for  from  that  court.  The  pope,  how- 
ever, having  doubtless  been  informed  that  Wicklif  had  powerful  pa- 
trons in  England,  ordered  at  the  same  time,  that,  in  case  it  should  be 
found  impracticable  to  get  possession  of  Wicklif 's  person,  still  the 
bishops  above  named,  should  sit  in  judgment  upon  him,  and  take  care 
that  he  should  be  compelled  to  pay  obedience  to  a  citation  to  Rome. 
The  papal  bulls  met  with  no  favorable  reception  in  England,  except 
from  the  bishops.  At  the  university  of  Oxford,1  either  sympathy  with 
Wicklif 's  cause,  or  a  freer  spirit  in  opposition  to  papal  absolutism,  and 
zeal  for  the  rights  of  the  university,  made  the  authorities  for  a  lon^ 
time  doubtful,  whether  they  should  receive  the  papal  bull  or  reject  it 
with  scorn.2 

Meantime,  the  old  King  Edward  had  died,  and  his  son  Richard  II. 
succeeded  him  in  the  government.  The  first  parliament  held  under  his 
reign  was  animated  by  a  freer  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  papal  extor- 
tions. This  tone  of  feeling  would  of  itself  be  favorable  to  Wicklif  upon 
the  arrival  of  the  papal  bulls.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  the  parliament 
had  entered  into  a  sort  of  alliance  with  him  personally,  as  the  advo- 
cate of  the  independent  authority  of  the  state.  The  parliament  de- 
liberated on  the  question  whether  they  should  not  refuse  the  pope  the 
sums  which  he  demanded,  unterrified  by  any  threat  of  the  ban.  Wick- 
lif was  invited  to  give  his  opinion.  He  pronounced  in  favor  of  the  re- 
fusal, and  endeavored  to  prove  the  right  of  it-  from  the  teachings  of 
Christ.  The  parliament  decided  in  conformity  with  this  opinion.  The 
king's  brother,  John  Gaunt  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  the  marshal  Henry 
Percy,  were  zealous  patrons  of  Wicklif,  and  approvers  of  his  freer 
spirit.3  Moreover,  he  already  had  many  adherents  among  the  people, 
consisting  partly  of  such  as  were  susceptible  to  the  Christian  element 

1  Lewis,  p.  46  sq.  (new  ed.  p.  49  sq.)  dicti  papalis  nuntii,  diu  in  pendulo  haere- 

8  That  zealous  supporter  of  the  papal  bant,  utrum  papalem  hullam  deberent  cum 

party,  Walsingham,  in  his  historical  work,  honore  recipere,  vel  omnino  cum  dedecore 

finds  much  fault  with  the  conduct  of  the  refutare.      Oxoniense     stadium   generate 

University,  whence  we  may  infer  what  in-  quam  gravi  lapsu  asapientiae  et  scientiae 

teresi  was  taken  in  Wicklifs  doctrines  at  culmine  decidisti,  quod  quondam  inextri- 

Oxford.    Walsingham,  loc  laud.  p.  201,  cabilia  atque  dnbia  toti  mundo  declarare 

expresses  himself  thus:  Cujus  universita-  consuesti.  jam  ignorantiae  nubilo  obfusca- 

tis   moderni     procurators    sive  rectores  turn  dubitare  non  vereris,  quae  quemlibet 

quantum  degeneraverint  a  prudentia  seu  e  laicis  christianis  dubitare  non  decet ! 

papientia   antiquorum,  per  hoc  facile  con-  3  Lewis,  p.  51  sq.  (new  ed.  p.  56  sq.) 
jiei  poterit,  quod  audita   causa  adventus 


148  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

in  efforts  for  reform,  and  in  part  of  such  as  were  glad  to  join  in  the 
spirit  of  opposition,  or  had  their  pleasure  in  movements  pointing  to 
something  new.1  Hence  no  one  dared  to  execute  the  papal  bull  lite- 
rally. Yet  Sudbury,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Courtney,  bishop 
of  London,  set  up  a  court  at  Lambeth  near  Canterbury,  and  Wicklif  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  this  tribunal.2  The  matter  created  a  great 
sensation.  Wicklif  appeared  before  the  tribunal  at  first  accompanied  by 
the  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  Henry  Percy.  He  was  obliged  to  press  his 
way  through  a  dense  crowd,  who  zealously  espoused  his  cause  as  that 
of  a  martyr  for  the  truth.  Percy  demanded  that  Wicklif  should  be 
allowed  to  sit,  so  that  he  might  defend  himself  at  his  ease  against  the 
articles  of  complaint.3  That  most  zealous  opponent  of  Wicklif,  Court- 
ney, bishop  of  London,  would  not  allow  this  to  a  person  accused  of  her- 
esy. But  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  took  up  the  quarrel  on  the  side  of 
Wicklif,  and  thus  an  exchange  of  words  passed  between  him  and  the 
bishop.  Thus  was  brought  about  the  dissolution  of  the  first  session  of 
the  court.  A  second  was  opened  in  June,  1378.  The  court,  particu- 
larly bishop  Courtney,  was  doubtless  inclined  to  proceed  with  more 
severity  against  Wicklif;  but  they  were  held  in  awe  by  the  power  of 
his  patrons.4  The  court  was  obliged  to  be  satisfied,  therefore,  after 
Wicklif  had  given  an  explanation  of  the  propositions  laid  to  his  charge; 
in  doing  which  he  submitted  himself  to  correction  by  the  church 
in  all  cases  of  detected  error  ;  he  protested  against  the  impu- 
tation of  being  obstinately  bent  on  defending  anything  erroneous  ;  he 
explained  the  propositions  in  a  milder  sense,  guarded  them  against  mis- 
construction, but  without  recanting  any  one  of  them.  He  says,  in  the 
concluding  sentences  of  his  declaration,  "  Far  be  it  from  the  church  of 
Christ,  that  the  truth  should  be  condemned  because  it  sounds  harshly 
to  sinners  or  to  the  ignorant  ;  for  then  the  entire  faith  of  Scripture 
would  be  deserving  of  condemnation."  Of  course  the  zealots  for  the 
hierarchical  party  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the  issue  of  the  cause, 
and  saw  in  it  nothing  but  a  yielding  up  of  their  cause  on  the  part  of 
the  court,  from  motives  of  fear. 

Wicklifs  health  had  been  shattered  by  his  prolonged  and  severe  la- 
bors and  contests.   In  the  year  1379  he  was  afflicted  with  a  dangerous 

1  Walsingham,   who   would    naturally,  .  .  quando  eas  laicorum  auribus  instillavit, 

from  his  own  point  of  view,  trace  the  favor  sed  nude  et  aperte  ut  praescribuntur  eas 

shown  to  Wicklif,  the  heretic,  to  nothing  docuit,  captans  per  talia  gratiam  laicorum, 

but  an  impure, worldly  interest,  says  (page  qui  libenter  audiunt,  quae    perversa  sunt, 

191):    Quod   domini  et   magnates  terrae  praecipue   tamen   de   ecclesia  et  personis 

multique  de  populo  ipsos  (Wiclefitas)  in  ecclesiasticis,  et   libentius  impelluntur  ad 

suis  praedicationibus  confoverunt,  et  fave-  damna  vel  injurias  inferenda  religiosis  et 

runt  praedicantibus  hos  errores.     Eo  nem-  clericis,  cum  aliqua  opportunitas  se  inges- 

pe    maxime,    quia   potestatem   tribuerunt  serit,  quae  omnino  extat  eis  desiderabilis 

laicis   suis   assertionibus    ad    auferendum  et  votiva.     P.  208. 
temporalia  a  veris  ecclesiastices  et  religio-        2  Walsingham,  p.  205. 
sis.     Walsingham's  words,  showing  what         3  Lewis,  p.  52,  (new  ed.  57.) 
a   spirit  of  opposition   had   been  aroused         4  Walsingham  notices  particularly  the 

among   the   laity  against  ecclesiastics  and  threats   of  Sir   Lewis   Clifford,  by  which 

monks,  are  :  Hoc  modo . . . .  Wycklef  favo-  they  were  frightened.     He  had  in  a  pomp 

re  et  diligentia  Londinensium  delusit  suos  ous  manner  bid  them  be  silent, 
examinatores,  episcopos  derisit,  et  evasit, 


SICKNESS    OF    WICKLIF.  149 

sickness.  On  his  sick-bed  he  was  visited  by  a  deputation  of  four  doc- 
tors of  theology  from  the  mendicant  orders,  and  four  senators  of  the 
city  of  Oxford,1  who  came  to  wish  him  the  restoration  of  his  health. 
Then  they  reminded  him  of  the  many  calumnies  which  the  mendicant 
friars  had  suffered  from  him,  and  admonished  him,  in  view  of  death,  to 
retract  what  he  had  said  against  them.  Wicklif,  who  was  too  weak  to 
rise  from  his  bed,  caused  himself  to  be  placed  erect  by  his  attendant, 
and  collecting  his  last  energies,  exclaimed  to  the  monks :  "  I  shall  not 
die,  but  live,  and  ever  continue  to  expose  the  bad  practices  of  the  beg- 
ging-monks."    They  left  him,  covered  with  confusion. 

The  dangers  that  threatened  him,  which  indeed  were  still  averted 
by  the  powerful  influence  of  his  friends,  and  the  severe  sickness  which 
oppressed  him,  could  not  break  his  courage,  nor  deter  him  from  the 
further  prosecution  of  his  bold  projects  of  reform.  It  characterizes  him 
as  the  forerunner  of  protestantism,  that  inasmuch  as  he  considered  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  the  highest  and  the  only  source  of  knowledge  with 
regard  to  the  truths  of  faith,  and  believed  it  necessary  to  examine  all 
doctrines  and  determinations  by  this  standard,  he  held  himself  justified 
in  attacking  every  doctrine  that  could  not  be  derived  therefrom.  So 
he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  make  the  Bible,  which  to  the  laity  was  an 
altogether  sealed  book,  and  to  the  clergy  of  that  age  themselves  one 
but  little  known,  accessible  to  all  as  the  common  source  of  the  faith,  by 
translating  it  into  the  vernacular  tongue.2  That  Wicklif  was  not  the 
only  man  filled  with  this  spirit,  that  the  need  of  a  more  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  was  at  that  time  deeply  felt  by  numbers,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  shortly  before  Wicklif,  John  Trevisa,  a  parish  priest, 
had  undertaken  a  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  English  lan- 
guage. In  the  year  1380,  Wicklif  published  his  translation,  —  a  work 
which,  as  the  controversies  in  which  he  thereby  became  involved  plain- 
ly show,  required  a  bold  spirit  which  no  danger  could  appall.  Wicklif, 
it  is  true,  could  not  produce  a  Bible  in  the  English  language  to  be 
compared  with  the  German  one  afterwards  produced  by  Luther  ;  but 
we  should  judge  of  it  with  reference  to  the  means  then  standing  at  his 
command.  He  could  not  go  back  to  the  languages  of  the  original,  be- 
ing ignorant  of  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  ;  but  he  spared  no  pains, 
and  furnished  all  that  it  was  possible  to  furnish  with  the  knowledge  and 
the  helps  which  he  possessed.  Besides  comparing  many  manuscripts 
of  the  Vulgate,  he  availed  himself  of  the  commentaries  of  Jerome  and 
of  Nicholas  of  Lyra,  and  whenever  these  comparisons  led  him  to  per- 
ceive a  difference  between  the  Vulgate  and  the  original,  he  directed 
attention  to  the  fact  by  marginal  references.  He  was  now  attacked' 
from  various  quarters,  because  he  was  introducing  among  the  multi- 
tude a  book  reserved  exclusively  for  the  use  of  priests.  But  he  stead- 
fastly defended  his  undertaking,  and  so  expressed  himself  concerning 
the  right  and  the  duty  of  laymen  to  draw  directly,  themselves,  from 
the  word  of  God,  as  could  not  fail  to  provoke  against  him  still  more 
violent  attacks.    Characteristic  of  these  times  is  the  way  in  which  Henry 

1  Lewis,  p.  64,  (new  ed.  p.  82.)  2  Lewis,  p.  66,  (new  ed.  p.  83.) 

13* 


150  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY  AND   DOCTRINE. 

Knighton,  a  contemporary  who,  in  his  History  of  the  period,  has  much 
to  say  about  Wicklif,1  expresses  himself  on  this  undertaking.  Nothing 
could  furnish  a  more  striking  picture  of  the  contrast  between  the  spirit 
of  Wicklif  and  the  hierarchical  spirit  of  the  age.  We  hear  almost  the 
same  language  in  this  case,  on  Wicklif's  translation  of  the  Bible,  as  was 
used  afterwards  with  reference  to  the  version  of  Luther.  Knighton  says : 
"  Master  John  Wicklif  has  translated  out  of  Latin  into  English  the  gos- 
pel which  Christ  delivered  to  the  clergy  and  doctors  of  the  church,  that 
they  might  administer  to  the  laity  and  to  weaker  persons,  according  to 
the  state  of  the  times  and  the  wants  of  men,  in  proportion  to  the  hunger 
of  their  souls  and  in  the  way  which  would  be  most  attractive  to  them." 
In  these  words  of  Knighton  we  recognize  the  prevailing  view  of  the 
better  class  of  clergy,  who  ever  regarded  themselves  as  tutors  over  the 
religious  consciousness  of  the  laity,  and  assumed  it  as  certain,  that  laymen 
must  always  be  dependant  for  their  religious  education  on  the  priests. 
The  latter  were  to  impart  to  them  just  so  much  of  the  Bible  as  seemed  to 
them  proper  and  befitting.  It  was  an  abuse  of  the  Bible  to  bestow  it 
all  at  once  upon  laymen,  who  were  incapable  of  understanding  it,  and 
hence  could  only  be  led  by  it  into  error.  Knighton  proceeds :  "  Thus 
was  the  gospel  by  him  laid  more  open  to  the  laity,  and  to  women  who 
could  read,  than  it  had  formerly  been  to  the  most  learned  of  the  clergy ; 
and  in  this  way  the  gospel  pearl  is  cast  abroad,  and  trodden  under  foot 
of  swine."  2  He  accuses  Wicklif,  so  far  as  he  attempted  to  restore  the 
true  gospel,  of  a  design  to  substitute  in  place  of  the  ancient  one  a 
new  everlasting  gospel,3  after  the  manner  of  those  sects,  against  which 
William  of  St.  Amour  had  written.4  This  crime,  he  says,  was  indeed 
laid  to  the  charge  of  those  Franciscans,  but  it  is  far  more  applicable  to 
the  Lollards,  who  have  rendered  the  gospel  into  our  mother  tongue. 
In  defence  of  his  translation,  Wicklif  said  :  "  When  so  many  versions 
of  the  Bible  have  been  made,  since  the  beginning  of  the  faith,  for  the 
advantage  of  the  Latins,  it  might  surely  be  allowed  to  one  poor  crea- 
ture of  God  to  convert  it  into  English,  for  the  benefit  of  Englishmen. 
He  appeals  to  the  examples  of  Bede  and  of  Alfred.  Moreover  French- 
men, Bohemians,  and  Britons  had  translated  the  Bible  and  other  books 
of  devotion  into  their  respective  languages.  "  I  cannot  see  — he  says 
—  why  Englishmen  should  not  have  the  same  in  their  language,  unless 
it  be  through  the  unfaithfulness  and  negligence  of  the  clergy,  or  be 
cause  our  people  are  not  worthy  of  so  great  a  blessing  and  gift  of  God, 
in  punishment  for  their  ancient  sins."  To  those  who  saw  something  he- 
retical in  the  fact  that  the  Bible  was  translated  into  English,  he  replies: 
"  They  would  condemn  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  taught  the  apostles  to 
speak  in  divers  tongues.  He  finds  fault  with  the  clergy  for  withholding 
those  keys  of  knowledge,  which  had  been  given  to  them,  from  the  laity. 
He  styles  those  persons  heretics  who  affirmed  that  people  of  the  world 

1  Chronica  de  eventibus  Angliae  in  gelium  Christi  in  aliud  evangelium,  quod 
Histor.  anglic.  scriptor.  antiq.,  Lond.  1652,  dicunt  fore  perfectius  et  melius  et  dignius, 
torn.  II.  quod  appellant  evangelium  aeternum  sive 

2  Ibid.  p.  2644.  evangelium  spiritus  sancti. 

3  Aliqui  laborant  ad  mutandum  evan-        *  Vid.  vol.  IV  of  this  work,  p.  283. 


wicklif's  translation  of  the  bible.  1/51 

and  lords  had  no  need  of  knowing  the  law  of  Christ,  but  it  was  suffi- 
cient for  them  to  know  what  the  priests  imparted  to  them  orally.1 
"  For  Holy  Scripture  is  the  faith  of  the  church,  and  the  more  familiar 
they  become  with  them,  in  a  right  believing  sense,  the  better."  He 
censures  the  clergy  for  taking  the  liberty  to  withhold  many  things  con- 
tained in  the  Scriptures,  which  were  against  their  own  interest,  from 
the  laity  ;  as,  for  example,  whatever  related  to  the  obligation  of  the 
clergy  to  follow  Christ  in  poverty  and  humility.  All  laws  and  doctrines 
of  the  prelates  were  to  be  received  only  so  far  as  they  were  fouiid  'd 
on  the  sacred  Scriptures.  As  all  believers  must  stand  before  the  ju  la- 
ment seat  of  Christ  to  give  account  of  the  talents  committed  to  them, 
so  all  should  rightly  know  these  talents  and  their  use,  in  order  that  they 
may  know  how  to  render  an  account  of  them ;  for  then  no  answer 
which  must  be  given  through  a  prelate  or  a  steward  could  be  of  any 
avail,  but  each  must  answer  in  his  own  person.  He  found  it  necessary 
to  show  that  the  New  Testament  was  intelligible  to  all  laymen  who 
only  did  what  in  them  lay  to  attain  to  the  understanding  of  it,  in 
refutation  of  the  opinion  that  a  peculiar  sort  of  preparation,  which  was 
possible  only  to  the  order  of  priests,  was  requisite  for  that  purpose.2 
He  extended  this  universal  intelligibleness  of  the  New  Testament  to  all 
things  the  knowledge  of  which  was  necessary  to  salvation.  The  religious 
and  moral  state  of  recipiency,  the  striving  after  righteousness,  he  main- 
tained to  be  the  most  important  qualification.  Whoever,  said  he,  ob- 
serves gentleness  and  love,  he  possesses  the  true  understanding  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  He  styles  it  a  heresy  to  affirm  that  the  gospel,  with 
its  truth  and  freedom,  did  not  suffice  for  the  salvation  of  a  Christian, 
without  the  ordinances  and  ceremonies  of  sinful  and  ignorant  men. 
For  the  rest,  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Wicklif  allowed  himself  to  be 
carried,  by  his  reverence  for  the  Scriptures  and  his  earnest  endeavors 
to  maintain  their  sufficiency  for  all  purposes,  beyond  the  measure  of 
propriety,  to  fail  of  keeping  sufficiently  distinct  from  each  other  the 
provinces  of  religious  and  of  worldly  knowledge,  and  to  seek  for  the 
resolution  of  questions,  which  had  no  relation  whatever  to  the  religious 
needs  and  salvation  of  men,  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures.3 

In  the  midst  of  these  contests,  Wicklif  ventured  to  attack  the  doc- 
trine of  the  church  on  a  point  most  vitally  connected  with  the  interest 
of  the  church  party  —  an  attack,  which,  in  these  times,  must  have 
exposed  him  to  the  greatest  peril.  He  stood  forth,  in  the  year  I08I, 
as  an  opponent  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation.  This  was  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  relation,  in  which  the  whole  bent  of  his 

1  Lewis,  p.  68,  (new  ed.  p.  86.)  translated  into  English,  for  this  had  often 

2  Wicklif  himself  relates,  that  at  the  proved  an  occasion  of  falling  into  here- 
University  of  Oxford  it  had  been  ordered,  sies.  It  was  not  politic,  that  every  man 
that  priests  and  parsons  should  not  read  should,  whenever  or  wherever  he  pleased, 
the  Holy  Scriptures  until  they  had  spent  devote  himself  to  the  earnest  study  of  the 
there  nine  or  ten  years.     But  it  is  well  to  Bible.     Lewis,  p.  71,  (new  ed.  p.  88.) 

ey  as  characterizing  the  times,  what  ■''  Nulla  quidem   est  sabtilitas  in  gram- 
the  Franciscan  Butler  wrote  twelve  years  matica  vel  logica  vel   alia  scientia  no  mi- 
later.     The  prelates  should  not  tolerate  it,  nanda,  quin  sit  excellent ius  in  scriptura. 
that    every  man  according  to  his  inclina-  Dialog,  p.  23 
tion  should  be  allowed  to  read  the  Bible 


152  HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

own  mind  stood  to  that  spirit,  from  which  the  doctrine  of  transubstan- 
tiation  had  proceeded,  and  which  had  made  it  triumphant.  He  pub- 
lished, in  his  lectures  of  the  year  1381,  twelve  conclusions  against  this 
doctrine.1 

We  will,  in  the  first  place,  consider  more  minutely  his  way  of  think- 
ing on  this  subject.  He  attacked  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation, 
and  of  the  accidentia  sine  subjecto,  on  rational  and  on  exegetical 
grounds.  As  regards  the  latter,  he  appealed  to  the  words  of  institu- 
tion, and  held  that  the  pronoun,  "  This,"  supposed  the  actual  presence 
of  the  object  referred  to.  The  logical  refutation  connected  itself  with 
his  realism,  by  which  he  was  led  to  assume  a  oneness  of  thought 
and  being,  a  harmony  of  correspondence  between  the  laws  of  thought 
and  the  laws  of  creation.  Hence,  looking  at  the  matter  from  this 
point  of  view,  the  accidentia  sine  subjecto  appeared  to  him  a  thing 
inconceivable  and  impossible,  involving  a  self-contradiction.  In  op- 
posing the  advocates  of  this  doctrine,  he  says :  "  They  pretend  that 
they  annihilate  in  an  instant  the  world  created  by  God,2  because  they 
destroy  the  primal  matter  which  God  decreed  should  be  imperishable  ; 
and  yet  they  can  make  no  new  thing  in  this  world,  save  that  they 
fabricate  unheard  of  miracles,  —  things,  which  beyond  any  doubt  would 
be  impossible  with  God,  (as  God's  almighty  power  has  no  relation  to 
things  impossible  in  themselves)  .3  And  as  they  pretend,  they  make  a 
new  world.  But  we  all  suppose  that  God  does  nothing  without  a 
sufficient  reason,  that  he  does  not  destroy  a  nature  which  is  incapable 
of  sin,  that  he  does  not  confound  the  ideas  implanted  in  us  by  nature,4 
unless  some  greater  advantage  or  some  better  reason  exists  for  so 
doing."  "  What,  then,  could  induce  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  —  says  he 
—  so  to  take  away  from  his  worshippers  the  judgment  of  reason,  when 
not  a  particle  of  good  was  to  accrue  from  so  doing ;  for  it  can  not  be 
proved  by  reason  or  by  Scripture  that  such  an  illusion  is  necessary 
for  men  as  an  accidens  sine  subjecto,  when  bread  and  wine  remaining 
would  in  a  more  suitable  way  represent  the  body  of  Christ.  And  there 
may  be  body  and  blood  of  Christ  as  well  in  each  point  of  such  a  sub- 
stance, as  in  any  point  of  such  a  monstrous  accident ;  and  still  greater 
reverence  to  God  would  be  produced  thereby."5  He  affirms  that  it  was 
incongruous  with  Christ's  nature  to  work  a  miracle  of  annihilation :  it 
was  contrary  to  the  whole  analogy  of  his  miraculous  works  during  his 
life  on  earth.  Let  us  cite  the  characteristic  words  of  Wickclif  him- 
self: "  They  say,  in  the  consecration  of  the  host,  they  consecrate 
bread  and  wine  into  nothing.  But  Christ,  though  he  was  called  by 
an  indolent  servant  a  hard  master,  never  cursed  in  so  hard  a  style 
anything  that  can  be  named ;  for,  when  he  cursed  the  fig-tree,  it  still 
continued  to  exist  in  its  substance  ;  for,  far  was  it  from  Christ,  either 

1  Lewis,  p.  77,  (new  ed.  p.  91.)  *  Page    193  :  Omnes  admittimus,  quod 

2  Ponunt  enim,  quod  mundum,  quem  deus  nihil  potest  facere  nisi  probabili  ra- 
deus  crearat,  statim  destruunt.  Dialog,  p.  tione.  nee  destruit  naturam  impeccabilera. 
191_  nee  copfundit  notitiam  naturaliter  nobis 

3  Vid.  Wicklif  s  doctrine  of  God's  om-  datam. 
nipotence.  s  Page  194. 


WICKLIF   AGAINST   THE   DOCTRINE   OF   TRANSUBSTANTIATION.      153 

on  account  of  sin  or  an  emblem  of  sin,1  to  destroy  utterly  bis  own 
creation,  and  no  creature  can  do  anything,  unless  the  agency  of  the 
Creator  precedes.  It  is  manifest  that,  although  they  bless  the  bread, 
as  they  say,  to  nothing,  yet  Christ  preserves  it,  because  it  is  his  crea- 
tion." 2  "  The  author  of  these  falsehoods  —  says  he  —  is  not  He  who 
spake  and  it  stood  fast,  but  rather  that  lying  spirit,  who  spake,  and  it 
ceased  to  be."  When  the  determinations  of  the  Lateran  council  under 
Innocent  III.  were  cited  as  testimony  in  favor  of  the  doctrine  of 
Transubstantiation,  he  replied  :  Although  Innocent  may  have  taught 
such  an  insane  fiction  as  the  monks  affirm,  still  this  can  make  out 
nothing  against  the  truth  which  is  founded  on  the  gospel ;  for  it  is 
from  this  source  all  truth  must  be  derived,  and  especially  that  truth 
which  relates  to  our  faith.3  He  alludes  to  the  fact  that  he  had  sent 
to  the  satraps  (the  prelates)  three  theses :  First,  if  by  the  power  of 
those  sacramental  words,  an  "  accident  without  a  subject "  was  posited 
in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  then  the  sacrament  itself  also  was  an 
accident ;  secondly,  there  had  never,  from  the  beginning,  been  a  more 
monstrous  heresy  than  this ;  thirdly,  this  sacrament  was  in  a  natural 
way  true  bread,  and  truly  the  body  of  Christ.4 

With  regard  to  Wicklif 's  own  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  he  contended  against  every  mode  of  a  bodily  presence 
of  Christ,  every  mode  of  conceiving  a  strict  and  proper  connection  of 
body  and  blood  with  the  bread  and  wine.  He  contended  against  that 
earlier  view  set  forth  by  John  of  Paris,  of  a  so-called  impanation,  the 
view  that  in  virtue  of  a  union  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  with  the 
bread  and  wine  like  the  union  of  the  two  natures  in  Christ,  the.  predi- 
cates of  the  one  might  be  transferred  over  to  the  other.  He  affirmed 
that  bread  and  wine  are  called  body  and  blood  of  Christ  only  in  a 
symbolical  sense,  as  in  general  one  thing  may,  in  an  improper  sense, 
be  called  by  the  name  of  another.  But  he  regarded  it  as  being  not 
merely  a  representative,  but  also  an  active  symbol  for  believers  ;  that 
the  symbols  were  actually  that  which  they  represented  in  a  certain 
relation,  Jiabitudinaliter,  that  is,  insomuch  that  believers,  who  partook 
of  the  holy  supper  with  true  devotion,  were  thereby  placed  in  a  real 
union  with  Christ.  He  endeavored  to  prove  this  by  comparing  the 
language  with  other  similar  modes  of  expression  in  the  Scriptures. 
"  Homely  examples  —  he  says  —  may  be  adduced  in  illustration.  It 
is  not  required,  but  contradicts  the  truth,  to  say  that  a  man,  by 
becoming  a  lord  or  a  prelate  of  the  church,  ceases  to  be  the  same 
person,  when  he  continues  to  be  the  same,  although,  in  a  certain  sense, 

1  Page  198:  Propter  peccatum  vel  figu-  vit  in  ista  dementia,  at  fratres  sibi  impo- 
rani  peceati.  By  the  latter  phrase  he  mint;  scio  tamen  ex  fide  Christi,  quod 
doubtless  intended  to  intimate  that  the  quicquid  in  materia  ista  definierit,  non 
barreness  of  the  fig  tree  was  emblematical  debet  acceptari  a  fidelibiis,  nisi  de  quanto 
of  the  moral  barrenness  of  the  Jewish  in  lege  evangelic^  est  fundatum,  cum  cer- 
people.  tus  sum    ex  eadem  fide,  quod  in  ista  lege 

2  Patet,  ut  consonat,  quod  licet  ipsi  be-  omnia  Veritas  et  specialiter  Veritas  fidi-i 
until  ant  panem,  ut  false  dicunt,  in  nihi-  secundum  mensuram,  quae  magis  congra- 
lura,  tamen  Christus,  cum  sit  sua  fabrica,  it,  continetur.     Dial.  p.  196. 

ipsum  servat.  4  Ibid.  p.  197. 

3  Et  csto,  quod  Innocentius  III.  devia- 


154  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY  AND    DOCTRINE. 

wove  exalted  substance.  So  we  should  believe  that  the  bread,  through 
the  power  of  the  sacramental  words  in  virtue  of  the  consecration  by 
the  high  priest,  becomes  truly  Christ's  body.  The  substance  of  the 
bread  is  not  thereby  destroyed  but  exalted  to  a  nobler  substance.1 
Do  we  really  believe  that  John  the  Baptist,  when  he  was  by  the  power 
of  Christ's  word  made  Elias,  ceased  thereby  to  be  John,  or  anything 
that  he  in  substance  was  before  ?  In  like  manner,  it  is  not  required 
to  say  that  the  bread,  although  it  began  to  be  the  body  of  Christ  by 
the  power  of  his  words,  therefore  ceased  to  be  bread."  Both  might 
so  subsist  together,  that  Christ  might  call  John  Elias,  and  yet  John 
might  say  he  was  not  Elias.  "  For  the  one  means  —  says  he  —  that 
John  is  Elias  in  a  figurative  sense,  and  the  other,  that  he  is  not  Elias 
in  person."  After  the  same  analogy  the  bread,  if  one  speaks  in  the 
proper  sense,  is  not,  and  yet,  in  the  symbolic  sense,  it  is  the  body  of 
Christ ;  it  is  only  necessary  to  distinguish  the  different  senses  in  which 
a  thing  is  affirmed  or  denied.2  He  cites  in  proof  the  case  that  Christ, 
with  a  certain  reference,  is  called  by  the  apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  x,  a 
rock ;  and  that,  according  to  the  41st  chapter  of  Genesis,  the  seven 
ears  of  corn  and  the  seven  fat  kine  were  seven  fruitful  years,  —  not 
that  they  represented,  but  that  they  were  these  years.3 

He  observes  that  there  are  three  modes  of  being,  that  may  be 
attributed  to  the  body  of  Christ,  —  his  being  in  Heaven,  in  the  world 
generally,  and  in  the  holy  supper.  We  should  not  represent  the 
matter  as  if  that  which  is  represented  by  something  else  in  a  certain 
relation,  habitudinaliter ,  came  to  it  by  some  motion  in  space,  or  as 
if  an  actual  change  took  place  by  some  process  taking  place  in  the 
thing  represented.  We  should  not  ponceive  that  the  body  of  Christ 
descends  to  the  host,  which  is  consecrated  in  a  particular  church  ; 
but  it  remains  above,  fixed  and  unmoved,  in  Heaven.  Hence  that 
body  is  present  in  the  host  spiritually,  not  dimensionally,  as  in  Heaven. 
Christ  is  spiritually  present,  as  man,  in  every  part  of  the  world.  Yet, 
in  the  consecrated  host,  Christ  is  present  in  a  far  different  manner, 
since  he  is,  habitudinaliter,  the  very  host  itself.  And  in  relation  to 
spiritual  being  and  potential  being  he  is  still,  again,  differently  present 
in  every  part  of  the  same.  And  thus  it  is  evident,  that  in  a  twofold 
respect  the  body  of  Christ  is  in  the  place  of  the  consecrated  host.4 

Thus  it  may  be  explained,  how  Wicklif,  in  an  English  confession, 
could  honestly  say :  "I  acknowledge  that  the  sacrament  of  the  altar 
is  verily  God's  body  in  the  form  of  bread ;  but  it  is  God's  body  after 
a  different  manner  than  that  body  is  in  heaven."5  We  see  how  in 
Wicklif,  the  denying  of  the  corporeal  presence  of  Christ  in  the  euchar- 
ist,  under  the  supposition  of  a  merely  spiritual  presence,  is  connected 
with  too  sensuous  a  representation  of  heaven,  and  of  the  nature  of  the 

1  Cum  naturapanis  non  ex  hinc  destru-  pus  Chrisi,  et  idem  sacraraentum  est  figu- 
itur.  sed  in  digniorem  substantiam  exalta-     raliter  corpus  Christi.  Ibid. 

tur.     P.  190.  3  Ibid.  p.  200. 

2  Et  eonformiter  non  contradicunt,  sed         4  Ibid.  p.  204. 

aequivocant  qui  coneedunt,  quod  hoc  sac-         5  Lewis,  p.  285,  (new  ed.  p.  335.) 
rameutum  non  est,  supple,  naturaliter  cor- 


wicklif's  doctrine   op  the  lord's   supper.  155 

glorified  body  of  Christ,  when  he  says :  "  In  heaven  is  his  foot  in  the 
form  of  flesh  and  blood ;  but  in  the  sacrament  is  God's  body,  by  a 
miracle  of  God,  in  the  form  of  bread."  How  it  is  that  although  Christ 
is  not  corporeally  present,  yet  faith  must  fasten  only  on  him,  he  illus- 
trates as  follows :  As  one  thinks  not  of  the  material  of  which  a  statue 
is  made,  whether  it  be  made  of  oak  or  of  ash,  and  fixes  his  thoughts 
only  on  that  of  which  it  is  the  figure,  so  and  still  more,  one  should  be 
far  from  thinking  of  the  species  of  bread,  but  he  should  think  only  on 
Christ,  and  with  all  the  purity,  all  the  devotion  and  all  the  love,  which 
God  pleased  to  give  him,  reverence  Christ ;  and  then  he  receives  God 
spiritually  to  more  effect  than  the  priest  who  chants  the  mass  with  less 
charity."  l 

Wicklif  says  himself,  in  a  passage  of  his  Trialogue,  that  he  was  cer- 
tain of  the  negatives,  viz.,  that  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  and 
the  doctrine  of  the  aecidentibus  sine  subjecto,  could  not  be  true  ;  more 
uncertain  of  the  positive  side,  how  it  was  necessary  to  conceive  the  re- 
lation of  the  consecrated  bread  and  wine  to  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ.  Hence  may  be  explained  how  it  should  happen  that  he  does 
not  always  express  himself  exactly  alike  on  this  doctrine.  To  contend 
against  the  sensuous  tendency  to  set  forth  the  spiritual  union  with 
Christ  as  the  principal  thing,  he  ever  regarded  as  the  point  of  great- 
est importance,  and  this  predominant  interest  in  favor  of  the  spiritual 
mode  of  apprehension,  may  in  fact  have  led  him  into  many  false  inter- 
pretations. Remarkable  is  the  way  in  which  he  expresses  himself  on 
this  subject,  in  an  English  work  of  his,  entitled  the  Wickett  (door 
to  the  Christian  life).2  He  here  affirms  scripture  does  not  say,  that 
Christ  at  the  institution  blessed  the  bread  and  wine,  but  it  seems  on 
the  contrary,  that  he  blessed  his  disciples,  whom  he  had  appointed  to 
be  witnesses  of  his  life-giving  sufferings,  and  in  them  he  left  his  bless- 
ed word,  which  is  the  bread  of  life ;  as  it  is  written,  that  man  shall 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God.  And  so  Christ  had  called  himself  the  bread  of  life 
that  came  down  from  heaven,  and  Christ,  in  the  gospel  of  Matthew  (he 
means  no  doubt  the  gospel  of  John),  often  says,  the  words  which  I 
speak  to  you  are  spirit  and  life.  Hence  it  seems  rather  that  he  blessed 
his  disciples,  than  the  bread  and  wine  ;  for  in  them  was  the  bread  of 
life  left,  much  more  than  in  the  material  bread  and  wine.3  For  the 
material  bread  is  a  perishable  thing,  Matth.  15 :  17  ;  for  the 
blessing   of   Christ  preserved  his  apostles   spiritually   and  bodily    at 

1  Lewis,  p.  285,  (new  ed.  p.  335):  As  a  profites  nouth  to  soule.  but  in  alsmykul 

mun  lceves  for  to  thenk  the  kinde  of  an  as  the  soule  is  fedde  with  charity, 
ymage  \v..i:ther  it  be  of  okeor  of  ashe,  and         2  Wycklyffes  Wycket,  whych  he  made 

settys  his  thought  in  him  in  whom  is  the  in  King   Richard's  days  the  second,  pab- 

ymagc  :  so  myche  more  schuld  a  man  leve  lished  at  Nuremberg,  1546,  then  afterwards 

tho    thenk   on  the  kynde  of   brede,   but  reprinted   at   the   University  of    Oxford, 

thenk  upon  Christ;  and  with  alle  cleness,  1828,  which  edition  lies   here  before  u-. 
alle  devotion,  and  alle  charitye  that  God        3  Wycket,  p.   15:    Therforc   it   semeth 

woldc  gif  him   worschippe   he  Crist,  and  more  that  he  blessed  his  disciples,  and  al^o 

then  he  receives  God  ghostly  more  meed-  his   apostles,  in   whom  the  bread  of  lyfe 

fully  than  the  prist  that  syngus  the  masse  was  lefte  more  then  in  material!  brcade. 
in  less  charity.    For  the  bodely  etyng  ne 


156  HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY     AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  same  time  ;  where  he  cites  Christ's  promise  that  no  one  of  his 
disciples  should  be  lost  except  Judas.  Christ  says  not  this  bread  is 
my  body,  or,  that  the  bread  should  be  given  for  the  life  of  the  world, — 
where  it  appears  that  Wicklif  did  not  refer  the  pronoun  "  This  "  to 
the  bread,  but  as  Carlstadt  afterwards  seems  to  have  done,  to  Christ's 
body.1  And  in  proof  of  the  assertion  that  all  depends  here  upon  the 
spirit,  not  upon  the  flesh,  he  cites  the  words  of  Christ  in  John  6  :  63  ; 
and  next  the  words  in  John  12 :  24  ;  "  From  these  words  —  he  adds 
—  we  may  perceive  that  Christ  according  to  the  flesh  must  die,  and 
that  in  his  death  is  given  the  fruit  of  eternal  life  for  all  who  believe 
in  him. 

Wicklif  even  declares  with  great  vehemence,  his  opposition  to  that 
doctrine  of  "  the  accidents  without  a  subject,"  which  to  him  seemed 
so  much  at  variance  with  the  bible  and  with  reason.  He  represents 
it  as  one  of  Satan's  most  cunning  manoeuvres,  to  succeed  in  persuading 
men  to  believe  this  monstrous  doctrine.  He  thus  expresses  himself 
on  the  subject  in  his  Trialogue.2  The  cunning  craft  of  Satan  strove 
a  long  time  to  work  up  this  delusion,  to  mislead  the  church  into  this 
heresy."  He  represents  Satan  as  saying :  "  If  by  my  representa- 
tive the  antichrist,  I  can  so  far  lead  astray  the  faithful  of  the  church, 
that  they  shall  hold  this  sacrament  to  be  no  longer  bread,  but  an 
abominable  accident,  I  shall  by  that  very  thing  lead  them  afterwards 
to  believe  whatever  I  will."  He  means  that  by  the  same  analogy,  it 
might  be  said  to  the  communities,  "  In  whatever  vices  a  prelate  may 
live,  yet  this  should  never  be  believed  of  him  by  the  people  his  sub- 
jects. He  would  say  that,  by  this  analogy,  those  dignities  of  the 
clergy  which  are  to  be  reverenced  by  laymen,  may  be  retained  in  spite 
of  all  their  crimes,  if  every  thing  was  to  be  considered  as  an  accident 
without  a  subject." 

He  denominates  the  adoration  of  the  host  a  species  of  idolatry. 
When  it  was  objected,  that  this  adoration  was  not  paid  to  the  host  but 
to  Christ,  he  replied  :  "  The  same  may  be  said  of  any  creature,  which, 
according  to  this  doctrine  should  therefore  be  adored  ;  for  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  in  every  creature  is  the  trinity,  and  that  is  something  far 
more  perfect  than  the  body  of  Christ.s  Yet  Wicklif  does  not  reject 
altogether  the  custom  of  adoration  in  this  regard,  since  he  says : 
"  Still  we  adore  this  host,  according  to  the  faith  of  scripture,  in  a  way 
more  safely  warranted,  and  so  also  the  cross  of  our  Lord,  or  other 
images  made  by  men." 

Wicklif  went  to  such  a  length  in  his  altogether  too  dogmatical  zeal 
as  to  regard  this  doctrine  both  as  an  invention  of  Satan  and  also  as 
an  error  incompatible  with  the  existence  of  saving  faith  :  and  believed 
it  necessary  to  suppose  that  those  advocates  of  this  doctrine,  whom  he 

1  And  often  the  scripture  saith,  that  Jesu  2  Lib.  IV,  p.  201. 

toke  breade  and  brake  it  and  gave  it  to  3  Quia  certum  est,   quod    in   qualibet 

his  disciples  and  sayd,  take  ye  eat  ye,  this  creatura  est  trinitas  increata,  et  ilia  est 

is  my  bodye   that  shalbe  geven  for  you.  longe  perfectior  quam  est  corpus  Christi. 

But  he  sayd  not  this  bread  is  my  body,  or  P.  202. 
that  the  brede  shuld  be  geven  for  the  lyfe 
of  the  world. 


wicklif's  doctrine  of  the  lord's  supper.  157 

would  not  willingly  cut  off  from  salvation,  as  for  example,  Robert,  bish- 
op of  Lincoln,  venerated  by  him  as  a  witness  for  the  truth,  must,  be- 
fore their  departure,  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  this  heresy,  and 
repented  of  it.1  We  recognize  here  that  one-sided  dogmatic  tendency 
of  protestantism,  which  is  inclined  to  lay  an  undue  stress  on  formal 
conceptions.  But  at  the  same  time  we  should  carefully  keep  in  mind, 
that  before  men  were  in  a  condition  to  understand  the  real  historical 
process  of  development  of  the  religious  life  and  its  relation  to  doctrine, 
they  must  have  been  quite  incapable  of  understanding  the  relative  ne- 
cessity of  certain  doctrinal  modes  of  expression  for  certain  times,  in  a 
certain  spiritual  atmosphere,  though  such  modes  of  expression  objec- 
tively considered,  may  be  incorrect. 

Having  thus  thrown  a  glance  at  Wicklif's  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  we  now  return  back  to  the  history.  In  the  year  1381,  then, 
Wicklif  put  forth  the  following  theses  on  the  Lord's  supper  :  "  The 
right  faith  of  a  Christian  is  this,  that  this  commendable  sacrament  is 
bread  and  body  of  Christ,  as  Christ  is  true  God  and  true  man ;  and 
this  faith  is  founded  on  Christ's  own  words  in  the  gospels."  He  adverts 
to  the  testimony  of  the  church  fathers,  and  characterizes  this  faith  as 
perfectly  consonant  with  reason.  He  adduces  the  proofs  in  confirma- 
tion of  it  from  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul.  He  calls  upon  the  secular 
lords  to  defend  this  faith,  as  they  were  bound  to  do  on  peril  of  their 
salvation. 

The  case,  however,  was  quite  different  with  Wicklif's  attack  on  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  from  what  it  had  been  with  his  previous 
contests.  When  he  attacked  the  tyranny  and  the  vices  of  the  clergy, 
of  the  mendicants,  he  could  reckon  on  a  host  of  allies,  even  such  as 
did  not  agree  with  him  in  his  dogmatic  convictions.  But  here  the 
question  related  to  the  weightiest  doctrines  of  the  church,  the  oppo- 
nents of  which  had  long  since  been  condemned  as  heretics.  The 
chancellor  of  the  university  of  Oxford  called  together  twelve  doctors, 
and  with  their  concurrence,  published  a  solemn  judgment,  declaring 
the  theses  put  forth  bv  Wicklif  on  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  to 
be  heretical ;  and  the  preaching  of  these  views  were  forbidden  on  pe- 
nalty of  imprisonment  and  the  infliction  of  the  ban.  Wicklif,  how- 
ever, did  not  allow  himself  to  be  disturbed  by  this  proceeding,  but 
boldly  told  the  chancellor  that  neither  he  nor  any  other  member  of 
his  council,  would  be  able  to  point  out  anything  heretical  in  him. 
Then  following  out  his  principles  respecting  the  relation  of  the  church 
to  the  state,  he  made  his  appeal  to  the  king. 

Meanwhile,  through  the  spread  of  Wicklif's  principles,  and  owing 
to  the  impulse  he  had  communicated  and  the  influence  of  his  party, 
which  extended  in  various  ways  through  the  different  ranks  of  society, 
to  the  very  lowest,  various  foreign,  secular,  and  political  elements  en- 
tered into  the  fermentation  that  had  been  produced,  which  threatened 
a  catastrophe.    There  were  appearances  similar  to  those  which  started 

1  Multos  autcm  suppono  seductos  fuisse     suppono  de  domino  Lincolniensi.  P.  198. 
hac  haeresi,  qui   tinalitcr   pounitebant,    ut 

VOL.  V.  14 


158  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

up  amidst  the  Donatist  movements  in  North  Africa,  and  in  the  peasant 
war  connected  with  the  German  reformation.  These  movements  seem 
to  have  sprung  up  originally  independent  of  Wicklif 's  influence,  direct 
or  indirect,  and  to  have  been  owing  to  other  causes.  The  manifold 
oppressions  of  the  country  people  called  forth  powerful  reactions,  and 
a  little  spark  might  grow  into  a  large  fire.  The  spirit  that  revolted 
against  oppression  brought  on  a  disposition  to  resist  all  regular  author- 
ity, and  to  reduce  everything  to  a  level.  These  movements  do  not 
seem  even  to  have  stood  so  closely  connected  with  the  reformatory 
tendency  proceeding  from  Wicklif  as  the  disturbances  of  the  later 
peasant  war  in  Germany  stood  with  the  ideas  diffused  by  Luther,  and 
misapprehended  by  some  of  the  people.  Still,  the  reformatory  ele- 
ments set  in  motion  by  Wickclif,  might  enter  into  combination  with 
reformatory  movements  of  a  quite  another  character,  relating  purely  to 
political  matters  ;  and  the  attacks  on  the  power  and  rule  of  a  corrupt 
clergy  called  forth  by  Wicklif,  might  present  somewhat  the  appear- 
ance of  a  common  cause.  Add  to  this,  that  men  of  a  violent  and 
fanatical  spirit  of  reform  placed  themselves,  at  this  time  —  like  those 
enthusiasts  attacked  by  Luther  in  his  later  days,  the  leaders  of  the 
people  in  the  peasant  war,  —  at  the  head  of  the  excited  people,  or 
espoused  their  cause  with  visionary  expectations.  We  cannot  say  that 
such  men  had  been  first  roused  by  the  impulse  which  proceeded  from 
Wicklif,  that  they  had  first  received  and  afterwards  further  developed 
the  seeds  which  he  scattered  abroad.  A  man  from  whom  some  great 
movement  proceeds  seldom  stands  alone.  Generally  there  is  some 
common  element  in  the  spiritual  atmosphere,  which  brings  such  men 
upon  the  public  stage,  though  minds  of  a  kindred  bent  show  themselves 
sometimes  pure,  sometimes  the  reverse  ;  in  some  cases,  full  of  good 
sense  ;  in  others,  extravagant  and  fanatical.  So  it  seems  to  have, 
been  with  the  reformatory  movements  and  elements  of  rebellion  against 
the  hierarchy  which  appeared  in  England  at  the  present  time.  There 
was  a  priest,  John  Balle,  chaplain  to  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
not  from  Wicklif 's  school,  nor  first  aroused  by  Wicklif 's  influence  ;  for, 
before  the  latter  came  upon  the  public  stage,  this  person  had  already 
created  a  sensation  by  his  preaching. i  This  man  seems  not  to  have 
started,  like  Wicklif,  from  a  determinate  dogmatic  tendency  opposed 
to  the  dominant  church  system,  but  to  have  embarked  in  his  under- 
takings merely  as  a  practical  reformer.  Perhaps  he  appeared  first  as 
one  of  the  preachers  of  repentance  in  those  times,  and  vigorously 
attacked  the  reigning  vices  and  immoralities  of  the  day,  understood 
how  to  work  on  the  passions  of  the  people,  had  many  followers,  and 
was  thus  carried  along  from  one  step  to  another.  He  inveighed  espe- 
cially against  the  vices  prevailing  among  the  clergy  and  the  nobil- 
ity. This  pleased  the  people.2  He  declaimed  against  the  superfluity 
of  wealth  among  the  clergy,  spoke  of  their  growing  rich  at  the  peo- 

1  Knighton    says   concerning  Wicklifs  opinionibus  praeparavit.  Hist.  angl.  script. 

relations  witli  him  :  Hie  habuit  praecurso-  torn.  II,  p.  2644. 

rem  Joliannem   iialle,  veluti  Christus  Jo-  2  Knighton,  his  violent  opponent,   says 

hanuem  baptistam,qui  vias  suas  in  talibus  of  him  :  Qui  praedicator  famosissimus  ha- 


INSURRECTION  AMONG  THE  PEASANTRY.  159 

pie's  cost.     Tythes  —  he  said  —  ought  not  to  be  paid  to  parsons,  when 
those  that  paid  them  were  poorer  than  the  parsons.     Neither  ought 
tythes  or  oblations  to  be  paid,  when  it  was  evident  that  the  laity  led 
better  lives  than  the  parson.1     He  seems  to  have  been  zealous  against 
the  unchastity  of  the  clergy,  and  probably  remonstrated  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Hildebrandian  reformatory  spirit  had  formerly  done, 
against  the  practice  of  allowing  illegitimate  sons  of  clergymen  to  obtain 
spiritual  promotion.2     In  all  this,  as  appears  evident  from  what  has 
been  said,  he  presented  numerous  points  of  contact  with  Wicklif,  which, 
however,  is  no  proof  of  any  farther  relationship  of  spirit,  or  connection 
between  the  two  men.     Neither  is  it  certain  that  John  Balle,  at  any 
later  period,  embraced  Wicklif 's  doctrines.     For  when  his  opponents, 
who  were  also  the  fierce  opponents  of  Wicklif,  say  that  he  dissemi- 
nated Wicklif's  doctrines  among  the  people,3  still  this  amounts  to  no 
proof  that  he  did  so.     After  having  thus  wielded  an  influence  over  the 
people  for  a  considerable  time,  he  was  finally  arrested,  and,  to  then- 
great  chagrin,  cast  into  prison  at  Canterbury.     Meanwhile  insurrec- 
tion spread  far  and  wide  among  the  populace.     The  possessions  of  the 
archbishop  were  attacked.     And  it  is  a  noticeable  fact,  though  one 
that  has  often  occurred  at  other  times,  that  men  impelled  by  a  wild 
spirit  of  fanaticism,  men,  who  in  other  respects  indulged  themselves  in 
every  species  of  abomination,  wishing  to  appear  only  as  champions  for 
justice  and  liberty,  would   allow  of  no  theft,  no   robbery  to  gratify 
private  avarice.     These  mobs  had  attacked  a  castle  belonging  to  the 
duke  of  Lancaster.     He  was  particularly  unpopular  with  them.     And 
yet  we  have  seen  that  this  duke  was  Wicklif's  ancient  patron  —  which 
shows,  again,  that  there  could  not  have  been  any  connection  between 
these  two  different  movements.     On  this  occasion  one  of  the  mob  stole 
a  beautiful  vessel  of  silver,  which  he  wished  to  retain  for  himself;  but 
his  companions  tossed  him  and  the  vase  into  the  flames,  crying :    We 
are  not  thieves  and  robbers,  but  zealots  for  truth  and  justice  !  4     By 
this  insurrectionary  mob  Balle  was  liberated  from  his  dungeon  and 
received  with  enthusiasm  as  a  martyr.     He  stood  up  as  a  preacher 
before  an  audience  of  thousands,  and  added  fuel  to  the  flame.     The 
multitude  wanted  to  make  him  their  archbishop  and  chancellor.     One 
sentence  in  a  sermon  of  his  which  he  preached  before  a  mob  composed 
of  two  hundred   thousand  people,   characterizes  the   man :    "  When 
Adam  delved  and  Eve  span,  who  was  then  the  gentleman  ?  "  5     He 
then  went  on  to  prove  that  by  nature  all  were  created  equal ;   bondage 

bebatur  apud  la'icos,  qui  per  plura  retroac-  are  not  to  be  taken  in  so  literal  a  sense. 

t;i  tempore  verbum  dei  insipienter  sparse-  Perhaps   they  state   his    own   conclusion 

rat,  lollium  cum  tritico  immiscendo,  laicis  from  a  fact,  rather  than  the  fact  as  it  really 

nimis  placens.     P.  2634.     When  this  op-  was.     His  words  are  :  Docuit  etiam  nemi- 

ponent   Bays   of  him,  that  he  mixed  tares  nem  aptum  regno  dei,  qui  non   in  matri- 

with  the  good  fruit  in  his  sermons,  it  would  monio  natus  fuisset. 

seem    that     even    his    enemy    must   find         3  As  Walsingham  savs  :  Docuit  et  per- 

something  to  commend  in  him,  which  may  versa  dogmata  perfidi  Johannis  Wicklcf. 
refer  to  his  practical  exhortations.  4  Knighton,  p.  2035. 

1  Walsingham,  p.  275.  5  Walsingham,  p.   275:    Wahn   Adam 

2  That    is,  if  we   may  gather  this  from  dalfe  and  Eve  span,  who  was  than  a  gen- 
the  words  of  Walsingham,  which,  coming  tleman  ? 

from  the  lips   of  »o  violent  an  antagonist, 


1(50  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

had  been  introduced  only  by  sinful  men,  subjugating  others,  in  opposi- 
tion to  God's  will ;  for,  if  it  had  pleased  God  to  create  serfs,  he  would 
have  determined,  in  the  beginning  of  the  world,  who  should  be  a  serf 
and  who  a  freeman.  They  should  consider,  then,  he  said  to  the  as- 
sembled crowd,  that  the  time  had  now  come,  when,  casting  off  the 
yoke  of  servitude,  they  could  enjoy  the  long  desired  liberty.  There- 
fore he  exhorted  them  to  behave  as  men  of  understanding.  And  from 
love  to  the  Father  of  the  house,  who  purges  the  field  from  tares,  they 
should  feel  bound  also  to  do  the  same  now  ;  first,  putting  to  death  the 
lords  and  nobles  of  the  realm,  then  the  judges  and  jurists,  next,  all 
whom  they  knew  would  in  any  other  way  do  mischief  to  the  common- 
wealth. Then,  and  not  till  then,  would  they  secure  to  themselves 
peace  and  freedom  for  the  future,  when  there  was  equal  liberty,  dig- 
nity and  authority  among  them  all.  John  Balle  afterwards  fell  a 
victim  to  his  fanaticism :  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  executed  as  a 
rebel.  This  insurrection  of  the  peasantry,  which  led  to  great  havoc 
and  destruction,  was  finally  put  down  by  force.  Now,  although,  as  is 
evident,  all  this  was  a  thing  quite  foreign  from  the  spirit  of  Wicklif, 
yet  it  was  eagerly  seized  upon  afterwards  by  his  enemies,  as  a  pretext 
for  connecting  the  aims  and  intentions  of  the  so-called  Lollards,  with 
the  object  proposed  by  those  disturbances.  Many  of  Wicklif 's  disci- 
ples among  the  clergy  and  the  knights,  disciples  among  the  clergy 
who  did  not  conduct  their  labors  with  the  prudence  of  their  master, 
and  who  manifested  in  their  sermons  too  violent  a  zeal  for  reform,  may 
have  contributed  to  this  result. 

Wicklif  himself  meddled  too  much  with  reform  beginning  from  with- 
out,—  a  spirit  which  passed  over,  also,  to  the  party  he  founded.  And 
this  circumstance  would  contribute,  still  more,  to  place  his  cause  in  a 
false  light.  He  presented  to  the  parliament,  a  paper,  in  which  he 
proposed  that  the  king  and  the  realm  should  obey  prelates  only  so  far 
as,  according  to  the  teaching  of  Scripture,  such  obedience  belonged  to 
the  obedience  of  Christ ;  because  otherwise  Christ  must  obey  Anti- 
christ. For  there  was  no  neutral  ground  between  Christ  and  Antichrist. 
All  obedience  should  be  paid  solely  to  Christ ;  and  any  act  of  obedience 
not  paid  to  him,  must  therefore  be  paid  to  Antichrist.  He  cites,  in 
proof,  Christ's  words  :  "He  that  is  not  for  me  is  against  me."  That 
the  money  of  the  kingdom  should  be  sent  neither  to  the  court  of  Rome, 
nor  to  Avignon,  nor  to  any  other  foreign  power,  unless  it  were  pi*oved 
that  men  are  bound  to  do  so  from  Holy  Scripture.  That  neither  a  car- 
dinal, nor  any  other  man,  had  a  right  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  an  English 
church,  unless  he  duly  resided  there,  or  was  lawfully  employed  in  prose- 
cuting some  affair  of  the  realm,  which  had  been  approved  by  the  nobles. 
For  he  would  else  not  enter  in  through  Christ,  but  as  a  disciple  of  Anti- 
christ ;  and  by  human  ordinances  he  would  plunder  the  kingdom,  like 
a  robber,  among  the  poor  under  his  power,  without  returning  any  equiv- 
alent for  the  money  obtained.  That  the  king  and  the  realm  should  be 
bound  to  extirpate  the  traitors  of  the  realm,  and  to  defend  their  own 
against  cruel  enemies.  That  the  common  weal  of  the  realm  should  not 
be  burdened  with  inordinate  taxes,  until  the  patrimony,  with  which  the 


Courtney's  proceedings  against  wicklif.  161 

clergy  was  endowed,  was  exhausted ;  for  that  was  all  property  of  the 
poor,  to  be  used  for  their  benefit  in  the  spirit  of  charity  ;  as  it  would 
be,  if  the  clergy  lived  in  the  perfection  of  primitive  poverty.  If  any 
bishop  or  parish  priest  fell  knowingly  into  the  contempt  of  God,  the 
king  was  not  only  warranted  but  also  bound,  to  confiscate  the  temporal 
goods  of  such  bishop  or  priest ;  otherwise  he  would  neglect  the  realm.1 
That  the  king  should  employ  no  bishop  or  priest  in  secular  affairs  ;  as 
well  king  as  clergyman  would  otherwise  be  Christ's  betrayer.  That  the 
king  should  cause  no  person  to  be  arrested  because  he  remained  under 
excommunication,  till  it  should  be  proved  by  the  law  of  God  that  he 
remained  justly  under  excommunication ;  for  many  had  been  excom- 
municated through  haste  and  imprudence,  in  cases  where,  according  to 
the  laws  of  God  and  the  church,  they  ought  not  to  have  suifered  ex- 
communication. To  arrest  a  man,  when  he  did  his  whole  duty,  was  a 
work  of  the  devil.  The  contrary,  though  its  consequences  might  be 
neither  felt  nor  cared  for,  yet  reduced  the  state  to  great  confusion  ; 
for  an  evil  which  is  not  felt,  and  which  is  therefore  considered  a  trifle 
and  little  thought  of,  draws  after  it  consequences  only  so  much  the 
more  disastrous.2 

The  insurrection  of  the  peasants  had  another  injurious  effect  on  Wick- 
lif s  cause,  that  in  the  same  year,  1381,  the  milder  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, Simon  Sudbury,  was  murdered,  and  William  Courtney,  bishop 
of  London,  a  man  inclined  to  more  violent  measures,  one  of  the  fiercest 
opponents  of  Wicklif,  was  appointed  his  successor  to  the  see  of  Canter- 
bury. This  prelate  now  took  advantage  of  his  power  to  proceed  more 
vigorously  against  Wicklif.  But  the  latter  appealed  to  parliament,  and 
in  his  memorial  proposed,  that  all  persons  entangled  in  private  religions 
devised  by  sinful  men,  should  be  left  free  to  adopt,  without  molestation, 
the  law  of  Christ  alone,  which,  having  been  given  by  Christ  to  his  apos- 
tles, was  far  more  perfect  than  any  such  religion  invented  by  sinful 
men.  That  all  who  had  unreasonably  and  wrongfully  condemned  this 
whole  counsel  given  by  Christ  should  be  corrected  on  account  of  so 
gross  an  error,  and  the  same  publicly  made  known.  That  tithes  and 
oblations  should  be  given  and  received  to  the  end  which  God's  law  and 
the  ordinances  of  the  pope  had  determined  ;  and  for  the  same  reason 
they  should  be  taken  away,  namely  in  all  cases  where  they  were  not 
used  conformably  to  their  original  design.  Christ's  doctrine  of  the  holy 
supper  should  be  publicly  taught  in  the  churches ;  and  the  opposite 
doctrine,  which  had  been  set  up  by  accursed  hypocrites  and  heretics, 
and  by  worldly  priests  ignorant  of  God's  law,  [should  be  rejected.'] 
The  last  three  words  were  not  found  in  the  MSS.  used  by  Lewis,  and 
are  therefore  supplied  by  conjecture.3 

Wicklif  had,  in  the  mean  time,  ever  since  his  return  from  Bruges, 
become  more  bold  and  violent  every  day  in  his  attacks  upon  the  mendi- 
cants. In  a  paper  put  forth  about  this  time  (1882),  he  affirms  that  he 
could  point  out  fifty  heresies,  and  more,  in  their  orders.     He  attacked 

'  Christum  regis  domini  temporalis  con-        *  Walsingham,  p.  283. 
temptum  ponderans.  s  Lewis,  p.  84,  (new  ed.  p.  98.) 

14* 


162  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

them  as  promoters  of  human  ordinances  to  the  injury  of  divine  truth. 
He  sought  to  show  that  their  whole  mode  of  life  was  one  at  variance 
with  the  example  of  Christ ;  that  by  their  vows  Christian  liberty  was 
abridged  ;  and,  in  a  time  when  men  were  incapable  of  examining  for 
themselves,  obligations  were  imposed  on  them  which  they  could  not 
fulfil  ;  that  men  would  thus  be  diverted  from  the  most  wholesome  sort 
of  labor  after  the  example  of  Christ,  that  of  preaching  Christ's  gospel 
where  it  was  most  needed,  without  being  confined  to  any  single  spot. 
He  accused  them  of  disturbing  the  parish  priests  in  the  labors  of  their 
calling.'  While  however,  in  other  contests  with  this  party,-  Wicklif 
could  reckon  upon  powerful  patrons,  the  case  was  altered  in  this  con- 
troversy on  so  weighty  a  doctrine. 

To  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  Wicklif 's  old  patron,  this  step  of  the  reform- 
er was  extremely  unwelcome.  It  is  said  that  he  went  himself,  in  person, 
to  Oxford,  for  the  purpose  of  advising  Wicklif  against  this  course,  and 
of  persuading  him  not  to  meddle  with  these  things.  But  Wicklif  was 
not  so  to  be  persuaded  to  give  up  a  particle  of  the  truth  which  he  had 
advanced  ;  and  we  see  that  although  he  availed  himself  of  such  aid  of 
the  powerful  as  might  offer  itself,  in  opposing  the  hierarchy,  and  al- 
though he  would  gladly  have  joined  himself  with  the  civil  power,  yet 
it  was  far  from  any  thoughts  of  his,  to  place  reliance  on  these  helps, 
and  to  begin  the  battle  on  this  reliance.  He  bravely  persevered,  even 
when  he  saw  his  old  patrons  declaring  against  him.  Courtney,  the  new 
archbishop  of  Canterbury,  convoked  on  the  17th  of  May,  in  a  Francis- 
can monastery  in  London,  a  council  to  examine  into  Wicklif  s  affair. 
The  proceedings  were  interrupted  by  an  earthquake  ;  for  which  reason 
Wicklif  was  wont  to  call  this  assembly  derisively  the  earthquake- 
council.2  He  regarded  the  event  as  a  judgment  of  God  in  favor  of  his 
doctrine.  He  says,  in  his  later  confession  :  3  "  The  council  charged 
Christ  and  the  saints  with  a  heresy ;  hence  the  earth  trembled  and 
shook,  and  a  strong  voice  answered  in  the  place  of  God,  as  it  happened 
at  the  time  of  the  last  passion  of  Christ  (John  xii.),  when  he  was 
condemned  to  bodily  death."4  The  archbishop, however,  encouraged 
the  prelates  by  explaining  the  fact  as  a  divine  judgment  of  the  oppo- 
site kind  —  a  notification  that,  as  nature  was  purified,  by  such  shocks, 
of  poisonous  exhalations,  so  the  church  was  to  be  purified  of  the  venom 
of  heresy.  By  this  council  a  number  of  Wicklif's  propositions  were 
condemned,  either  as  heretical  or  erroneous  ;  partly,  such  as  he  had 
actually  affirmed,  for  example,  on  the  Lord's  supper ;  on  the  limits  of 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  power ;  on  what  belongs  to  the  right  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  clergymen  :  in  opposition  to  the  secularization  of  the 
church  and  of  the  papacy  ;  on  the  papal  dignity,  in  its  right  sense,  be- 
ing conditioned  upon  the  personal  character  of  the  person  administering 
it.5    The  archbishop  put  forth  an  ordinance  against  the  Wicklifite  doc- 

1  Lewis,  p.  20,  (new  ed.  p.  30.)  dampnyde  to  bodely  deth. 

*  Lewis,  p.  95,  (new  ed.  p  117.)  5  Wicklif  says  of  these  judgments  of  the 

3  Knighton,  p.  2650.  council,  the  mendicants  have  poisoned  the 

4  Wherefore'the  erthe  tremblide  fayland  kingdom  of  England  at  their  earthquake- 
maynnus   voys   ansveryde  for  God    als  it  council  in  London.     Dial.  2y2. 

dide  in  tynie  of  his  passione  whan  he  was 


wicklif' s  defence  against  the  earthquake-council.    163 

trines,  addressed  to  the  chancellor  of  Oxford  university,  to  which, 
however,  the  university  at  first  paid  but  very  little  attention.1  But  the 
archbishop  induced  King  Richard  to  issue  a  command,  directing  that 
all  persons  who  there  taught  Wicklifite  doctrines,  should  be  placed 
under  arrest.2  Wicklif  speaks  of  the  secret  plots  in  London  and  Lin- 
coln, to  kill  off  the  poor  priests.3  After  this  he  published  a  new  con- 
fession on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  supper,  in  which  he  took  pains  to 
guard  against  the  insinuation  that  he  did  not  acknowledge  the  true 
body  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament ;  though  he  by  no  means  retracted  his 
opinions,  but  so  expressed  himself  that  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in 
recognizing  them  in  this  new  form.  He  declared,4  very  decidedly,  against 
the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,;  inveighed  against  those  whom  he 
calls  the  sect  of  accident-worshippers,  and  after  having  spoken  of  the 
prevailing  errors,  concludes  by  saying  :  "  But  I  believe  the  truth  will 
finally  conquer."  He  defended  himself,  in  a  particular  tract,  against 
the  so-called  earthquake-council.  With  regard  to  many  of  the  doc- 
trines which  had  been  condemned  there,  he  could  with  perfect  justice 
declare,  that  he  had  never  preached  them.  Others,  which  he  had 
really  taught,  he  defended  against  the  imputation  of  heresy.  He 
cleared  himself,  for  example,  from  the  charge  that  he  had  made  the  ob- 
jective validity  of  the  sacraments  depend  on  the  subjective  character  of 
the  person  who  administered  them.  Sophisters  ought  to  know  that 
even  a  reprobate  might  still  perform  fully  the  sacramental  acts,  though 
it  would  be  to  his  own  condemnation  ;  for  they  are  not  the  authors  of 
these  sacraments,  but  God  reserves  in  his  own  hands  that  divine  power 
on  which  the  efficacy  of  sacraments  depends.5  With  prayer,  however, 
the  case  was  quite  different.  In  the  seventh  proposition  condemned 
under  his  name,  the  assertion  was  ascribed  to  him,  that  a  people  may 
punish  their  sinning  rulers  according  to  their  own  good  pleasure.  On 
this  point  Wicklif,  in  defending  himself,  remarks  :  "  This  charge  is  in- 
serted in  calumniation  of  the  poor  priests,  with  a  view  to  make  them 
odious  to  the  secular  lords  ;  when  the  truth  is  that  the  poor  priests  do 
their  utmost  to  counteract,  by  the  divine  law,  the  insurrection  of  ser- 
vants against  their  lords,  and  declare  to  servants  their  obligation  to 
obey  their  masters,  even  though  they  may  be  tyrants.  In  the  paper  in 
which  he  examines  the  articles  condemning  his  doctrines,6  he  persists 
in  affirming  that,  according  to  the  divine  word,  the  king  was  bound  to 
deprive  the  clergy  of  the  goods  which  they  abused. 

The  movements  in  Oxford  induced  Wicklif  to  retire  in  the  same 
year,  1382,  to  his  parish  at  Lutterworth.  He  was  there  seized  with 
a  paralysis.  But  his  courage  and  zeal  suffered  no  abatement  under 
this  affliction.     He  kept  on  contending  to  the  very  last.     Meantime 

1  Walsingham,  p.  286.  phisters  shulden  know  well  that  a  cursed 

-     Wilki.is   concilia  magn.  Brit.  Lond.  man  doth  folly  the  sacraments,  though  it 

17-S7.  torn.  IV.  ]>.  156.  be  to  his  damning,  for  they  ben  notautours 

*Quodtara  Londiniae  qnam  Lincolniae  of  these  sacraments,  hut  God  kepeth  that 

labotarunt  assidue,  ad  sacerdotes  iideles  et  divinity  to  himself. 

pauperes  exstinguendum.  Dialog,  p.  296.  6  The  great  sentence  of  curse  expound? 

•'  Lewis,  p.  272,  (new  ed.  p.  823.)  ed,  Lewis,  p.  99,  (new  ed.  p.  121.) 

s  Lewis,    p.   96,  (new    ed.  p.  118):   So- 


164  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

broke  out  the  papal  schism  of  which  we  have  spoken.  The  enfeebling 
effect  of  this  event  on  the  papal  power  was  favorable  to  Wicklif's 
cause  ;  and  he  understood  well  how  to  avail  himself  of  the  divided 
opinions  on  the  question  who  was  pope,  and  of  the  quarrel  between 
the  two  popes,  to  back  up  his  attack  on  the  papacy  itself,  and  his 
arguments  against  the  necessity  of  a  visible  supreme  head  of  the 
church.  Accordingly,  in  a  paper  on  the  schism  he  says  : '  "  Trust  we 
in  the  help  of  Christ  on  this  point,  for  he  hath  begun  already  to  help 
us  graciously,  in  that  he  hath  clove  the  head  of  Antichrist,  and  made 
the  two  parts  fight  one  against  the  other.  For  it  is  not,  doubtful, 
that  the  sin  of  the  popes,  which  hath  been  so  long  continued,  hath 
brought  in  this  division."  He  says,  "  Let  the  rival  pontiffs  continue 
to  launch  their  anathemas  against  each  other,  or  should  one  of  them 
prevail,  in  either  case  a  severe  wound  has  been  inflicted.  Pie  calls 
upon  the  emperor  and  kings  to  lend  their  assistance  in  this  cause,  to 
maintain  God's  law,  to  recover  the  heritage  of  the  church,  and  to 
destroy  the  foul  sins  of  clerks,  saving  their  persons.  Thus  would 
peace  be  established,  and  simony  destroyed.  He  contests  the  pre- 
tended infallibility  of  the  popes,  and  denies  their  arrogant  pretensions 
with  regard  to  absolutism  and  indulgence.2  In  a  work  still  unpublish- 
ed "  On  the  church  and  its  government,"  after  speaking  of  the  prev- 
alence of  simony  in  the  church,  he  says  :  "And  so  God  would  no 
longer  suffer  the  fiend  to  reign  in  only  one  such  priest,  but  for  the  sin 
which  they  had  done  made  division  among  two,  so  that  men,  in  Christ's 
name,  may  the  more  easily  overcome  them  both.  Evil  is  weakened  by 
diffusion,  no  less  than  good  ;  and  this  now  moveth  poor  priests  to  speak 
heartily  in  this  matter."  In  his  sermons  preached  at  Lutterworth,  he 
made  frequent  allusions  to  the  schism  ;  thus  in  a  sermon  on  Romans 
xiii,  when  he  says,  "  The  pope  is  not  on  Christ's  side,  who  put  his  soul 
for  his  sheep,  but  on  the  side  of  Antichrist  who  putteth  many  souls 
for  his  pride..  This  man  feedeth  not  the  sheep  of  Christ,  as  Christ 
thrice  commanded  Peter,  but  spoileth  them  and  slayeth  them,  and  lead- 
eth  them  many  wrong  ways." 

The  bull  proclaiming  a  crusade  and  indulgence,  and  put  forth  by 
pope  Urban  VI.  against  his  rival  Clement  VII.  in  Avignon,  afforded 
Wicklif  occasion  for  many  new  and  fierce  assaults  on  the  popes,  in 
which  he  exposed  the  unchristian  character  of  this  procedure,  and 
the  futility  of  the  proclamation  of  indulgence.3  In  the  paper  above 
mentioned  which  contains  a  criticism  of  the  sentences  of  condemnation 
passed  on  his  doctrines,  he  reproaches  the  pope  for  using  the  banner 
of  the  cross,  that  symbol  of  peace,  of  grace,  and  of  charity,  to  lead 
men  on  to  the  destruction  of  christians,  from  love  to  two  false  priests, 
open  antichrists,  in  order  to  maintain  their  worldly  state,  and  oppress 
Christendom.  And  he  asks :  "  Why  is  not  the  proud  priest  in  Rome 
willing  to  grant  full  pardon  to  all  men  when  they  live  in  peace,  char- 
ity, and  patience,  as  he  grants  it  to  all  who  will  engage  in  the  work 

1  Vaushan,  vol.  II,  p.  5.  *  Lewis,  p.  99,  (new  ed.  p.  121.) 

2  Ibid.  p.  6. 


wicklif's  death.  165 

of  destroying  christians  ?  "  When  cited  by  the  pope  to  appear  be- 
fore his  tribunal  in  Rome,  he  published  a  bold  letter  to  him,  expressing 
his  views  openly.  He  declares  that  believing  the  gospel  as  he  did, 
to  be  the  supreme  rule,  higher  than  all  other  laws,  he  considered  the 
pope  as  bound  above  all  men  to  keep  this  law,  being  the  highest 
representative  of  Christ  on  earth.  For  the  greatness  of  Christ's  re- 
presentative was  not  to  be  measured  by  the  standard  of  worldly  great- 
ness, but  by  the  degree  in  which  a  person  represents  Christ  by  a  vir- 
tu •  is  life.  He  supposes  that  Christ,  during  his  life  on  earth,  was  the 
poorest  of  men.  No  christian  should  follow  the  pope  or  any  saint  in 
heaven,  except  so  far  as  such  an  one  folio*;  Christ.  "  For  —  says  he 
—  James  and  John  were  in  error,  and  P^r  and  Paul  sinned."  He 
exhorts  the  pope,  therefore,  to  surrender  his  secular  rule  to  secular 
lords,  and  he  would  soon  induce  all  his  clergy  to  do  the  same  ;  for  so 
had  Christ  done  and  taught  his  disciples  to  do,  till  the  evil  fiend  blind- 
ed this  world.  So  far  as  it  depended  on  himself  he  was  ready  to  go 
to  Rome  ;  but  Christ  had  bid  him  do  the  contrary,  and  taught  him  to 
obey  God  rather  than  man.  "And  I  hope  —  he  writes  —  of  our 
pope,  that  he  will  be  no  antichrist  nor  act  indirect  contradiction  to  the 
will  of  Christ ;  for  if  he  cites  me  against  reason,  and  this  unreasonable 
citation  is  followed  up,  then  he  is  an  open  antichrist."  An  honest  in- 
tention did  not  suffice  to  excuse  Peter,  nor  prevent  Christ  from  calling 
him  Satan  ;  so  in  the  present  case  a  blind  intention  and  bad  counsel 
would  not  serve  to  excuse  the  pope.  But  when  he  required  poor 
priests  to  undertake  a  journey  which  was  beyond  their  means,  this 
could  not  be  excused  by  the  pious  intention,  nor  so  as  to  prevent  his 
being  called  antichrist.  God  tempts  no  man  beyond  what  he  is  able 
to  bear  ;  why  should  a  man  require  such  a  service  from  another  ? 
•'Therefore — he  concludes — we  pray  God  in  behalf  of  our  Pope 
Urban  VI.,  that  his  holy  purpose  of  old  may  not  be  hindered  and  frus- 
trated by  the  fiend.  And  Christ,  who  cannot  lie,  says,  that  the  fiend 
oi'  man  is  in  his  own  house."  i 

While  Wicklif  was  hearing  mass  on  the  day  of  the  Holy  Innocents, 
in  the  year  138-1,  in  his  church  at  Lutterworth,  he  fell  down  just  as 
the  host  was  elevated,  struck  by  a  violent  shock  of  apoplexy  ;  his 
tongue  was  so  palsied  that  he  could  not  speak  till  he  died.  This  event 
took  place  on  Silvester  eve. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  the  exposition  of  Wicklif 's  doctrine.  His 
philosophy  and  theology  were  closely  interwoven  :  accordingly  the  an- 
tagonism of  realism  and  nominalism  entered  deeply  also  into  his 
theology.2  Nominalism  in  fact  appeared  to  him  something  heretical. 
It  was  by  reason  of  this  false  confounding  together  of  the  provinces  of 
philosophy  and  theology,  that  he  accused  the  nominalists  of  necessa- 
rily misrepresenting  the  truth  of  Holy  Scripture  ;  since  in  the  history 

1  Lewis,  letter  of  excuse  to  pope  Urban  pears  to  him  Plato's  doctrine  of  ideas.  He 

VI,  p.  283,  (new  ed.  p.  833.)  says  :  Certum  est, quod  sunt  universalia  ex 

8  In  support  of  his  doctrine  of  the  reality  parti  reitestiticata  tarn  ab  Aristotele,  qaam 

of  general  conceptions  lie  appeals  to  Aris-  Platone.     Licet  Plato  subtilius  asceudit  in 

totle  ;  still  more  profound,   however,  ap-  universalia  idearum.     Dial.  p.  41. 


166  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

of  the  creation  of  the  species,  they  could  not  receive  the  account  in 
its  true  sense,  but  must  understand  it  as  speaking  of  names,  without  real 
substance. i  He  took  ground  decidedly  against  those,  who  held  to  an 
opposition  between  truths  philosophical  and  truths  theological.  He 
calls  it  infatuation  to  assert  that  any  light  of  nature  is  at  variance  with 
the  light  of  faith,  so  that  in  the  light  of  faith  it  may  be  necessary  to 
believe  what  in  the  light  of  nature  is  impossible.  He  held  that  such 
blindness  was  in  reality  no  light  of  nature,  but  darkness  ;  since  two  such 
contradictory  lights  could  not  possibly  exist  together.2  But  since  the 
fall,  a  certain  imperfection  cleaves  to  the  weak  light  of  nature  which 
God  graciously  remedies  by.  imparting  his  own  knowledge  to  mankind. 
And  accordingly  one  man  discovers  by  the  light  of  nature,  what  ano- 
ther comes  to  know  by  the  light  of  faith.  Starting  from  his  realism, 
Wicklif  affirms  a  correspondence  between  truth  in  thought  and  being 
as  it  is  grounded  in  God.  Men  may  frame  to  themselves  many 
thoughts  which  do  not  correspond  to  being  ;  —  thoughts  of  things  which 
are  in  themselves  impossible  ;  but  these  are  no  true  thoughts.  There 
is  no  actual  reception  of  the  substance  of  such  thoughts  into  the  soul,  but 
a  reception  merely  of  their  signs,  a  presentation  of  mere  words.  He 
distinguishes,  as  a  realist,  the  intelligere  res  from  the  mere  signa 
rerum,  verba  cogitans.3  But  this  cannot  be  transferred  to  God. 
Everything  posited  in  his  ideas  is  in  ideal  being  one  with  himself;4 
hence  that  only  is  possible  which  is  actual,  though  men  may  conceive 
of  many  things  as  possible,  which  in  fact  are  not  possible.5  Men  may 
represent  to  themselves  many  monstrous  things,  to  which  no  ideas  in 
God  correspond  ;  but  God  can  know  nothing  which  is  not  God  him- 
self, or  in  some  way  ideally  represented  in  God.61  Everything  posi- 
tive in  the  creature  must  be  referred  to  God  ;  God  himself  produces 
it,  though  not  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  produced  by  finite  creatures.7 
He  defends,  against  Aristotle,  the  Platonic  doctrine  of  ideas.  He 
finds  in  Aristotle  a  misapprehension  of  the  nature  of  ideas,  since  by 
them  is  not  to  be  understood  anything  self-subsistent ;  the  term,  in  his 
view,  denotes  the  form  in  which  God  knows  things,  the  intellectuals  as 
creature.  The  idea  is,  in  its  essence,  God  himself;  in  its  form,  it  is 
the  mode  in  which  God  knows  created  things.8  With  his  doctrine  of 
ideas  accordingly  is  connected  the   proposition,  that  whatever  is  pos- 

1  Et  species  in  Mose  sotiuerat  in  princi-  5  He  supposes  quod  est  and  quod  potest 
pio  Kbri  sui,  vocans  rerum  creatarum  prin-  esse  to  he  identical,  quia  omne  quod  habet 
cipia  species  et  genera,  ut  patet  in  princi-  esse  intelligibile,  est  in  deo.  Omne  sig- 
pio  genesis,  quam  indubie  species  intellexit  nificabile  foret  secundum  esse  intelligibile 
non   esse   terminos,  vel   conceptus,   sicut  ipse  deus. 

somniant  haeretici,  exponentes  fidem  scrip-  6  Deus  non  potest  quicquam  intelligere, 

turae   ad   sensum,  quern  spiritus  sanctus  nisi   sit   ipse  deus,  vel  in   deo  aliqualiter 

non  flagitat      Ibid.  p.  42.  ideatum.  P.  10. 

2  Quia  non  talia  duo  lurnina  repugnan-  7  Deus  facit  omne  positivum,  quod  crea- 
ria.  Ibid.  p.  16.  tura  sua  fecerit,  et  tamen  ex  hoc  non  se- 

3  Sed  quamvis  homo  vel  diabolus  pos-  quitur.  quod  comedat,  loquatur  et  ambulet 
sunt  intelligere  sic  erronee,  cum  nee  sua  caet.     P.  14. 

intellectio  nee  apparentia  terminatnr    ad  8  P.  25:  Idea  est  essentialiter  natura  di- 

rem  apparentem  vel  intellectam  extra  sig-  vina,  et  formaliter  ratio,  secundum  quam 

num.     Ibid.  p.  116.  deus  intelligit  creaturas. 

4  Ibid.  p.  8. 


wicklif' s  doctrine  of  predesti  .ation.  167 

sible  is  actual.1  He  denies  the  existence  in  God  of  any  such  dis- 
tinction as  that  of  power  or  faculty  and  action  ;  omnipotence,  therefore, 
relates  only  to  what  actually  takes  place.  And  as  God  can  produce 
nothing  in  himself  which  he  does  not  actually  produce,  so  he  can  pro- 
duce nothing  without  himself  which  he  does  not  actually  bring  forth  in 
its  proper  time.2 

We  see  in  Wicklif  the  tendency  of  reform  combined  with  an  Augus- 
tinianism  which  went  far  beyond  Augustin  himself  in  its  polemical  hos- 
tility to  everything  that  seemed  verging  on  Pelagianism  ;  to  all  worth 
or  ability  on  the  part  of  the  creature :  and  which,  in  fact,  amounted 
to  the  denial  of  free-will.  A  one-sided  religious  element  in  Wicklif, 
here  united  itself  with  his  stern  speculative  consistency  :  we  meet  with 
elements  which  in  their  logical  evolution  would  have  led  to  pantheism. 
Everything,  according  to  his  notions,  enters  as  a  part  necessarily  into 
the  fulfilment  of  the  decrees  of  predestination.  This  excludes  all 
conditions.  No  falling  away  from  grace,  therefore,  is  possible,  because 
grace  is  a  thing  grounded  in  the  divine  predestination ;  although  for  a 
transient  moment  a  predestinated  person  may  sin,  and  for  a  transient 
moment  a  reprobate  partake  of  grace.  In  the  developments  of  time, 
the  fact  that  the  one  is  a  praescitus,  the  other  a  praedestinatus,  is  con- 
ditioned ou  the  sinful  life  of  the  one  and  the  pious  life  of  the  other  ; 
but  the  original  eternal  ground  of  all  is  still  the  divine  predestination, 
which  is  made  actual  by  all  temporal  instrumentalities  ;  for  all  is 
grounded  in  the  divine  ideas,  which  are  one  with  God  himself.  To 
the  harmony  of  the  world,  to  which  God  makes  everything  relate,  be- 
long, according  to  the  notions  of  Wicklif,  both  good  and  evil.3  It  may 
be  conceded,  that  many  praesciti  find  themselves  in  the  state  of  grace 
in  their  present  righteousness  ;  and  that  many  praedestinati  grievously 
sin  in  their  present  state  of  unrighteousness  ;  but  the  praesciti  never 
find  themselves  in  the  position  of  final  perseverance,  nor  the  praedesti- 
nati in  that  of  final  obduracy.  On  this  ground,  he  rejects  the  meri- 
tum  de  conyruo  as  an  unscriptural  fiction,  something  still  worse  than 
the  doctrine  of  Pelagius.* 

It  is  plain,  that  from  Wicklif 's  doctrine  follow  unconditional  neces- 
sity^ and  the  denial  of  free-will  and  of  contingency.  Still  Wicklif  would 
not  throw  back  the  causality  of  evil  upon  God.  —  Evil,  as  such,  is  what- 
ever is  not  grounded  in  the  divine  ideas.  It  is  known  of  God  precise- 
ly as  that  which  is  not  grounded  in  His  ideas — per  carentiam  ideae  : 
as  darkness  is  known  by  light,  and  as  the  absence  of  light.  Still 
nothing  is   thereby  gained  for  moral   contemplation.     Evolving   that 

1  Dens  nihil  intelligit,  nisi  quod  existit,  praecedente  tamen  causa  aetema,  tarn  ex 

dum  potest  existere,  et  sic  omne  quod  ex-  parte  dei  taliter  ordinantis,  quarh  ex  parte 

istere  potest,  existit.  P.  26.  raturititionis    creaturae   taliter  ordinatae. 

1  Bicut  deos  ad  intra  nihil  potest  pro-  Ibid.  p.  74. 

ducere,  nisi    absolute  necessario  illud  pro-  *  Ibid.  p.  101. 

ducat,  sic  nihil  ad  extra  potest  producerc,  5  Among  the  45  articles    attributed   to 

nisi  pro  suo  tempore  illud  produeat.    Pag.  Wicklif,  the  proposition  :  Omnia  de  neces- 

28.  sitate   absoluta  eveniunt  might   justly   be 

3  Ita  eoncedendum   videtur,  quod    tern-  condemned   as  one  actually  belonging  to 

porale  sit  causa  praedestinationis  aeternae,  him. 


168  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

which  is  contained  in  the  thought,  it  would  follow  from  it  that  evil,  as 
evil,  has  for  God  no  existence  at  all :  but  looked  at  from  the  standing- 
point  of  the  idea,  all  is  necessary  as  belonging  to  the  harmony  of  the 
world.  Wicklif  himself  confesses  the  mischievous  practical  conse- 
quences to  which  his  doctrine  of  unconditional  necessity  would  lead. 
But  his  iron  mind  refuses  to  be  frightened  by  such  consequences.  He 
says :  "  The  wicked  may,  no  doubt,  find  occasion  from  this  doctrine 
to  do  many  wicked  things,  and  if  it  be  in  their  power  will  actually  do 
them.  But  it  is  unknown  who  those  are  ;  just  as  it  is  unknown  to  me 
but  that  some  person  will  necessarily  dash  out  my  brains,  and  then 
grossly  plead  in  excuse,  that  as  the  thing  was  necessary,  he  could  not 
have  helped  it.  But  I  will  tell  thee,  for  so  irrational  a  deed  he  is 
necessarily  guilty."  '  Accordingly,  all  sin  appears  to  him  a  necessary 
thing  ;  and  so  the  punishment  of  sin.  All  is  required  in  order  to  the 
beauty  of  the  universe.2  The  whole  multitude  of  the  lost  will  serve  to 
enhance  the  glory  of  the  blessed.3  God  is  none  the  less  free,  for 
doing  anything  in  a  way  which  is  unconditionally  necessary;  as  for 
example,  in  the  generation  of  the  Son,  and  in  the  procession  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  This  agency,  however,  in  the  essence  of  God,  is  neces- 
sarily an  eternal  one  ;  and  the  facts  which  result  from  it  are  in  time. 
So  far  as  this  goes,  they  may  be  styled  contingent.4  It  is  an  advan- 
tage of  Wicklif 's  realistic  bent,  leading  him  to  affirm,  that  everything 
possible  must  at  some  time  be  actual,  that  it  enables  him  to  put  aside 
the  idle  questions  of  the  later  Scholasticism  about  mere  possibilities. 
"  And  thus  we  are  freed  —  says  he  —  from  many  superfluous  specula- 
tions, with  which  the  heretics  (among  whom  he  classes  the  nominalists) 
torture  themselves  in  regard  to  certain  supposable  cases.  It  is  more 
wholesome  to  study  settled  truths  than  idly  to  lose  ourselves  in  mere 
fictions,  of  which  we  cannot  prove  the  possibility,  nor  that  they  or  the 
knowledge  of  them  can  be  of  the  least  benefit  to  man  ;  while  many 
settled  and  profitable  truths  still  lie  hidden  from  man."  5 

The  true  protestant  principle  comes  forth  in  Wicklif  when  he  ascribes 
the  whole  work  of  salvation  to  Christ  alone.  He  expresses  it  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  worship  of  saints.  There  is  no  saint  in  word  or  deed 
deserving  of  praise,  except  so  far  as  he  has  derived  all  that  for  which 
he  is  praised  from  Christ.s  "  Hence  our  church 7  —  he  says  —  has  this 
reasonable  custom,  that  when  a  saint  is  invoked,  she  addresses  the 
prayer  to  Christ :  not  principally  to  that  saint,  but  to  Christ."  Nor  is 
the  festival  of  a  saint  to  any  purpose,  except  so  far  as  it  tends  to 
magnify  Christ,  excites  the  soul  to  adore  him,  kindles  in  it  the  love  of 
him.     When,  therefore,  the  observance  of  a  saint-day  deviates  from 

1  Dial.  p.  105,  *  Ibid,  p   166  :  Et  patet,  quod  deus  non 

2  Verumtanien  ilia  eoncessa  sequensest,  illibertatur  quodcumque  facere,  licet  abso- 
quod  omnia  peccata  mundi  de  necessitate  lute  necessario  illud  agat,  sicut  non  illiber- 
evenient,  et  per  consequens,  quod  omnes  tatur  producere  verbum  vel  spiritum  sanc- 
peccatores  secundum  formam,  qua  deus  turn,  licet  absolute  necessario  illud  agat. 
decreverat,  punientur,  et  totum  hoc  facit  Actio  tamen  ista  ad  intra  necessario  est 
ad  pulchritudinem  universi.     Ibid.  p.  148.  aeterna,  et  factio  est  temporalis.     Ideo  di- 

3  Totus   numerus    damnatorum     cedet  citur,  quod  factio  est  contingens. 
mundo  ad  profectum  et  gloriam  beatorum.  5  Ibid.  p.  164. 

P.  154.  6  Ibid.  p.  171.  7  Page  172. 


WICKLIF    AGAINST    THE    WORSHIP    OF    SAINTS.  1G9 

this  end,  the  motive  must  be  avarice  or  some  other  sin.  Hence  many 
are  disposed  to  think  that  all  those  festivals  should  be  abolished,  and 
the  festival  of  Christ  alone  remain ;  for  thus  Christ  would  be  kept  in 
more  lively  remembrance,  and  the  devotion  of  the  faithful  would  not 
be  so  improperly  distributed  between  Christ  and  his  members.  Foolish 
must  he  be  who,  instead  of  clinging  to  Christ  alone,  seeks  the  media- 
tion of  some  other.  "For  Christ  —  says  he  —  ever  lives  near  the 
Father  and  is  the  most  ready  to  intercede  for  us,  imparting  himself  to 
the  soul  of  every  wayfaring  pilgrim  who  loves  him.  Therefore  should 
no  man  seek  first  the  mediation  of  other  saints,  for  he  is  more  ready  to 
help  than  any  one  of  them."  The  soul  must  be  distracted  by  the 
multitude  of  the  blessed,  to  which  it  turns,  the  strength  of  the  feelings 
for  Christ  must  be  weakened,  as  it  is  but  a  finite  thing.  It  may  like- 
wise turn  out,  that  the  foolish  devotee  is  worshipping  a  canonized 
devil.  "  When  only  Christ  is  invoked,  the  other  saints,  at  his  bid- 
ding, help  with  their  spiritual  intercessions  ;  and,  however  much  they 
may  be  worshipped  apart,  still  they  will  assist  none  except  in  the  mea- 
sure they  are  commanded  to  do  so  by  Christ.  It  seems  a  folly,  to 
leave  the  fountain  which  is  assuredly  more  ready  to  bestow  itself  on 
every  one,  and  turn  away  to  the  distant  and  troubled  brook ;  and 
especially  where  faith  does  not  teach  that  such  a  brook  originates  in 
the  living  fountain."  At  least,  then,  those  saints  only  should  be 
worshipped,  who  are  known  to  be  such  from  the  word  of  God.  He  is 
opposed  to  particular  churches  taking  pains  to  procure  the  canoniza- 
tion of  their  saints  from  the  Roman  see,  a  practice  which  he  traces  to 
avarice  or  the  want  of  faith.  "  Who  —  says  he  —  would  ever  think 
of  employing  the  interest  of  some  court  fool  to  obtain  an  interview  with 
the  more  accessible  and  more  gracious  king  himself?  The  saints  in 
heaven  are  no  court  fools  ;  but,  incorporated  by  the  grace  of  their 
Saviour  with  Christ,  they  are  still  infinitely  less,  in  comparison  with 
him,  than  the  court  fool  is  to  his  earthly  prince."  It  were  foolish,  on 
a  dangerous  journey,  to  leave  the  straight  and  sure  highway,  and 
strike  into  some  unsafe  and  unknown  by-path ;  inasmuch,  then,  as  the 
life  of  Christ  and  his  rules  are  plainly  open  for  our  inspection,  it  would 
seem  as  if  we  must  consider  the  contemplation  of  the  life  of  others  as 
of  far  less  account.  He  calls  the  canonization  of  saints,  expressing 
doubtless  his  own  opinion,  though  he  speaks  of  it  as  the  view  of  many, 
a  blasphemous  thing ;  since  without  direct  revelation  no  man  can  be 
certain  about  it.  The  miracles  by  which  it  was  pretended  to  defend 
the  canonization  of  saints,  he  puts  down  as  delusions ;  for  the  devil, 
who  can  clothe  himself  as  an  angel  of  light,  might  perform  still  greater 
miracles  in  the  person  of  a  departed  reprobate.  The  devil  never 
sleeps ;  and  he  deceives  the  people  whenever  he  can  ;  hence  many, 
thus  led  astray,  honor  a  new-made  saint  more  than  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Adopting  the  common  definition  of  a  sacrament,  invidbilis  gratiae 
forma  et  causa,  Wicklif  remarks  :  "  Every  visible  creature  is  also  a 

1  Ibid.  p.  174.  a  Ibid.  p.  180. 

VOL.  V.  15 


170  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

sacrament,  since  it  is  a  visible  form  of  the  invisible  grace  of  the  Crea- 
tor, exhibits  the  image  of  his  ideas,  and  may  become  to  creatures  a 
cause  of  invitation  and  of  knowledge.  Even  a  sermon  would,  in  this 
sense,  be  a  sacrament,  since  it  is  to  the  hearers  a  sign  of  holiness.  He 
thinks  that  many  signs  might  be  cited  from  Scripture,  which  could  be 
called  sacraments  with  as  much  propriety  as  the  seven.1  "  In  the  times 
of  the  Old  Covenant  —  he  says  —  the  church,  like  a  virgin  still  in  her 
youth,  had  to  be  educated  by  many  sensible  signs ;  but,  with  the 
growth  of  the  church  in  the  times  of  the  law  of  grace,  we  are  relieved 
from  the  necessity  of  giving  so  much  heed  to  such  signs."  He  finds  a 
threefold  abuse  of  signs  in  his  own  time  :  First,  that  signs  of  the  Old 
Covenant  were  observed,  which  had  been  abolished.  Secondly,  a  wan- 
ton coquetry  with  signs.  There  were  many  who  showed  such  careful 
solicitude  for  these  signs,  which  had  no  foundation  in  Scripture  but 
were  mere  human  inventions,  that  they  would  sooner  transgress  one  of 
the  ten  commandments,  than  deviate  from  them  in  the  least.  Thirdly, 
overloading  the  church  which  Christ  intended  should  be  free,  with  such 
figures,  even  beyond  what  had  been  done  in  the  church  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Avoiding  this  threefold  abuse,  the  church  should  retain 
the  moderate  use  of  those  signs  in  particular  which  had  been  instituted 
by  Christ.  Baptism,  for  example,  was  a  sign  instituted  by  Christ  ;  and 
is  necessary,  because  in  this  our  state  of  pilgrimage,  we  are  without 
clear  knowledge,  and  need  to  be  guided  in  the  right  way  by  such  figures.2 
Confirmation,  he  represents  as  a  calumny  against  God,  since  it  is  af- 
firmed by  it,  that  bishops  give  the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  new  way,  or  con- 
firm the  giving  of  it.  But  this  means,  giving  more  than  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  apostles  (in  Acts,  ch.  viii.)  only  prayed  that  those  who  believed 
might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  says  :  3  "  I  boldly  affirm,  that  in 
the  early  church,  in  the  time  of  the  apostle  Paul,  two  orders  of  the 
clergy  were  sufficient,  priests  and  deacons  ;  in  the  time  of  Paul,  bishop 
and  presbyter  were  the  same."  Also  in  his  Dialogue,  he  asserts  that 
reason,  as  well  as  God's  word,  requires  that  while  the  wants  of  the 
clergy  should  be  provided  for,  they  should  not  be  overburthened  with 
temporal  things,  because  these  temporal  things  were  of  no  use  to  the 
possessors,  except  as  applied  to  the  ends  of  their  spiritual  calling. 
The  greater  the  poverty  under  which  an  evangelical  man  discharged 
his  vocation,  the  more  acceptable  he  was  to  Christ,  other  things  being 
equal.  It  seemed  probable  to  him  that  Silvester  and  others,  in  ac- 
cepting the  dotation,  grievously  sinned.  But  we  may  suppose  that  they 
afterwards  did  fruitful  penance.4  He  maintains  that  princes  were  not 
only  authorized,  but  bound,  on  pain  of  damnation,  to  deprive  the  church 
of  all  her  misappropriated  secular  goods  :  since  they  ought  to  repent 
of  their  own  folly,  and  do  satisfaction  for  the  sinful  act  by  which  they 
had  defiled  the  church  of  Christ.5     Was  it  objected  that  they  had 

1  Ibid.  p.  181.  ter  delinquente,  nee  solum  quod  illis  licet 

2  Ibid.  p.  215.  hoc  facere,   sed    quod  debent  sub  poena 

3  Ibid.  p.  225.  damnationis  gehennae,  cum  debent  de  sua 

4  Ibid.  p.  234.  stultitia  poenitere  et  satisfacere  pro  pecca- 
6  Ibid.  p.  237  :  Quod  nedum  possunt  au-  to,  quo  Christi  ecclesiam  macularunt. 

ferre  temporalia  ab  ecclesia  habitudinali- 


WICKLIF    AGAINST   MULTIPLICATION    OF    SACRAMENTS.  171 

vowed  such  gifts  to  the  church  ?  he  replies :  a  vow  at  variance  with 
duty  is  not  binding ;  as,  for  example,  if  a  man  has  vowed  to  kill  his 
brother,  is  he  bound  to  perform  that  wicked  deed  ?  He  declares  heart- 
felt repentance  and  confession  of  sins  before  God  to  be  the  main  thing 
on  which  all  depends.  Auricular  confession  he  holds  to  be  salutary, 
but  not  absolutely  necessary.1  He  contends  against  the  doctrine  of  the 
thesaurus  meritorum  supererogationis,  which  laid  the  foundation  for  in- 
dulgences. He  styles  it  a  gross  blasphemy ;  and  remarks  upon  it2 
that  neither  the  pope  nor  Christ  can  deal  otherwise  with  souls,  or  other- 
wise grant  remission,  than  as  God  has  eternally  ordained  in  his  right- 
ous  counsels.  But  it  is  not  proved  that  the  pope,  or  any  other  one, 
has  any  just  reason  for  so  doing.  Then  he  asks,  in  what  member  of 
the  church  does  this  merit  reside  ?  If  it  is  in  Christ  and  his  members, 
then  it  would  seem  strange  that  the  pope  should  have  power  to  deprive 
the  subjects  of  that  which  belongs  to  them  ;  first,  because  the  acci- 
dent cannot  exist  separate  from  its  subject ;  secondly,  because  they 
have  verily  received  their  full  recompense  in  exact  proportion  to  their 
desert.  How  then  can  the  pope  wrong  God  and  them  by  any  such  pre- 
tended purloining  ?  Finally,  by  the  same  principle,  the  pope  has 
power,  by  the  authority  thus  conceded  to  him,  of  saving  all ;  and  there- 
fore it  would  be  his  fault  if  one  individual,  living  in  his  own  time, 
should  go  to  perdition. 

He  affirms,  that  after  the  first  thousand  years,  Satan  was  let  loose  for 
the  next  thousand,  and  that  then  the  church  declined  remarkably  from 
the  imitation  of  Christ.3  Hence  arose  the  efforts  of  pious  men  to  bring 
about  a  reformation,  men  who  sought  to  restore  the  living  imitation  of 
Christ.  Among  these  he  reckons  the  efforts  of  Dominic  and  Francis, 
in  whom,  however,  he  deplores  the  lack  of  Christian  wisdom  ;  and  he 
remarks  that  afterwards  hypocrisy  and  impure  motives  soon  crept  in. 
If  the  order  of  Knights  Templar  was  abolished  on  account  of  its  de- 
generacy, how  much  more  ought  these  orders  to  be  abolished  ?4  He 
complains  of  the  pharisaical  spirit  of  his  age  :5  "  I  turn  —  says  he  — 
to  our  Pharisees.  The  eyes  of  our  private  religion  are  too  much  daz- 
zled by  that  Pharisaical  pride.  For  a  bodily  fast  is  prized  more  highly, 
or  its  non-observance,  which  can  be  noticed,  is  more  regarded,  than 
spiritual  fasting.  Therefore,  from  the  folly  of  those  orders,  Lord,  de- 
liver us !  " 

In  the  writings  of  Wicklif,  we  meet  with  a  remarkable  proph- 
ecy of  Luther's  reformation,  where  he  states  that  from  monachism 
itself  would  go  forth  a  reaction,  founded  in  the  very  essence  of  Chris- 
tianity, against  the  monastic  life,  and  to  the  renovation  of  the  church 
in  the  spirit  of  Paul.  "  I  suppose  —  says  he  —  that  some  brothers, 
whom  God  may  vouchsafe  to  teach,  will  be  devoutly  converted  to  the 
primitive  religion  of  Christ,  and  abandoning  their  false  interpretations 
of  genuine  Christianity,  after  having  demanded  or  acquired  for  them- 
selves permission  from  Antichrist,  will  freely  return  to  the  original  re- 

1  Ibid.  p.  251.  3  Ibid.  p.  280.         6  P.  144 

*  Ibid.  p.  278.  4  P.  284. 


172  HISTOKY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

ligion  of  Christ  ;  and  then  they  will  build  up  the  church  like  Paul.'' ' 
Thus  he  expresses  the  expectation,  that  a  return  to  the  true  way  of  fol- 
lowing Christ,  would  proceed  from  the  bosom  of  monachism  itself,  that 
its  friends  would  obtain  liberty  from  the  popes  to  live  in  their  own  way, 
or  would  find  means  of  conquering  that  liberty,  and  this  would  be  the 
commencement  of  a  renovated  church,  purified  from  the  Jewish  leaven, 
a  church  in  the  sense  of  the  apostle  Paul. 

Wicklif  was  still  entangled  in  the  old  scholastic  views  of  the  doc- 
trine of  justification.  He  gave  especial  prominence  to  the  subjective 
side  of  this  doctrine  ;  and  hence  he  agreed  with  Augustin  and  the 
schoolmen  on  this  point,  that  no  one  could  have  certainty  whether  he 
belonged  or  not  to  the  number  of  the  elect.  It  is  evident  that  in  his 
case  as  in  that  of  Augustin  and  the  Thomists,  this  might  be  held  in 
perfect  consistency  with  his  referring  everything  to  grace  alone,  and 
placing  freewill  utterly  in  the  back-ground.  And  hence,  too,  Wicklif 
may  sometimes  give  prominence  to  the  trust  of  a  christian  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  pious  life,  though  he  regarded  everything  in  that 
life  as  being  but  a  work  of  divine  grace.  Accordingly  he  says:  When 
God  rewards  a  good  work,  he  crowns  his  own  gift.  Hence,  too,  we  may 
with  Vaughan,2  compare  Wicklif  with  Luther,  in  his  views  of  the  doc- 
trine of  justification.  But  trust  in  the  redemption  by  Christ  is,  in  truth, 
made  the  central  point  also  by  the  scholastic  theologians  of  the  13th 
century.  Yet,  in  making  this  subjective  conception  of  justification  his 
point  of  departure,  and  deriving  everything  from  the  divine  fellowship 
of  life  with  Christ,  he  came  to  a  more  profound  and  spiritual  concep- 
tion of  the  church,  as  an  inward  unity  to  be  traced  to  the  same  com- 
mon inward  fact,  in  contradistinction  from  the  outward  unity  contend- 
ed for  on  the  position  held  by  the  church.  "  Holy  Church  —  he  says 
—  is  the  congregation  of  just  men  for  whom  Christ  shed  his  blood  ; 
and  not  mere  stones,  and  timber,  and  earthly  dross,  which  the  priests 
of  Antichrist  magnify  more  than  the  righteousness  of  God  and  the 
souls  of  men.3  So  he  declaims  against  those  who,  when  men  speak  of 
holy  church,  understand  thereby  prelates  and  priests,  with  monks, 
canons,  and  friars,  and  all  men  who  have  tonsures,  though  they  live 
accursedly,  and  never  so  contrary  to  the  law  of  God.  And  he  con- 
tends against  the  distinction  which,  from  this  point  of  view,  was  made 
between  spirituals  and  seculars.4  "  Those  people  —  he  says  —  would 
not  reckon  as  belonging  to  the  church  the  secular  men  of  holy  church, 
though  they  live  never  so  truly  according  to  God's  law,  and  die  in 
perfect  charity.  Nevertheless,  all  who  shall  be  saved  in  the  bliss  of 
heaven  are  members  of  holy  church,  and  no  more."  So  from  this 
position  he  combats  the  hypothesis  of  the  necessity  of  a  visible  head  of 
the  church.  "Prelates  —  he  observes  —  make  many  new  points  of 
belief,  and  say  it  is  not  enough  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  be 

1  P.  271  :  Suppono  autem,  quod  aliquifra-     nem  Christi  primaevam,  et  tunc  aedijicabunt 
tres  quos  deus  docere  dignatur,  ad  religionem     ecclesiam  sicid  Paulus. 
primaevam    Christi  deuotius  convertentur,    et         2  II,  359. 
r dicta  sua  perjidia  sive  obtenta  sive  petita         3  Ibid.  II,  279. 

Aittichristi  licentia  redibunt  libere  ad  reliyio-         4  In  his  work  not  yet  published  .  of  Pre- 
lates. Vaughan,  torn.  II,  p.  279. 


WICKLIF  AGAINST  THE  NECESSITY  OF  THE  PAPACY.     173 

baptized  —  as  Christ  says  in  the  gospel  by  St.  Mark  —  except  a  man 
also  believe  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  is  the  head  of  holy  church.  But 
certainly  no  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  ever  constrained  any  man  to  be 
lieve  this  of  himself.  And  yet  they  were  certain  of  their  salvation  in 
heaven.  How  then  should  any  sinful  wretch  constrain  men  to  believe 
that  he  is  head  of  holy  church,  while  he  knows  not  whether  he  shall 
be  saved  or  lost  ?  "  A  bishop  of  Rome  might  possibly  be  one  of  those 
who  are  to  be  condemned  for  their  sins ;  and  in  this  case  men  would 
be  compelled  to  regard  a  devil  of  hell  as  the  head  of  holy  church. 
He  makes  the  true  conception  of  a  vicar  of  Christ  to  rest  on  the  per- 
sonal imitation  of  Christ.  In  one  who  exhibits  the  contrary  character, 
he  sees  not  the  vicar  of  Christ,  but  rather  Antichrist ;  as  he  says : l 
The  pope  is  the  chief  Antichrist,  for  he  himself  falsely  pretends  that 
he  is  the  most  immediate  vicar  of  Christ  and  most  resembling  him  in 
life ;  and,  consequently,  the  most  humble  pilgrim,  the  poorest  man,  and 
the  farthest  removed  from  worldly  men  and  worldly  things ;  when, 
however,  the  fact  generally  is,  that  he  stands  first  in  the  opposite  sins. 
He  says  in  one  of  his  last  sermons  :  2  "So  long  as  Christ  is  in  heaven, 
the  church  hath  in  him  the  best  pope,  and  that  distance  hindereth  him 
not  in  doing  his  deeds,  as  he  promiseth  that  he  is  with  his  always  to 
the  end  of  the  world.  We  dare  not  put  two  heads,  lest  the  church  be 
monstrous."  The  Head  above  is  therefore  commended  as  alone  wor- 
thy of  confidence.  As  he  divided  the  church  into  three  parts  :  preach- 
ers, defenders  and  laborers,  so  he  describes  the  clergy  in  particular  as 
persons  whose  office  is  to  teach ;  for  it  is  characteristic  of  him  to  seize 
the  clerical  office  on  this  particular  side  of  it,  as  the  preaching  office. 
Preachers  should  set  an  example  to  all  of  walking  after  Christ ;  they 
should  be  nearest  to  Christ,  and  nearest  heaven,  and  fullest  of  charity  .a 
But  the  manifold  gradations  of  rank  among  the  clergy  he  held  to  be 
utterly  foreign  to  Christianity.  Difficult  as  it  then  must  have  been,  he 
could  look  at  the  apostolic  age,  with  sufficient  freedom  from  prejudice 
to  see  that  these  distinctions  were  of  later  origin,  that  at  the  beginning 
there  was  but  one  order  of  presbyters.  There  should  be  but  one 
spiritual  order,  he  supposed.  Originally  there  were  only  priests  and 
deacons ;  but  the  fiend,  he  remarks,  has  changed  this  part  to  many 
colors,  as  seculars  and  religious.  And  these  have  both  many  parts,  as 
popes  and  cardinals,  and  bishops,  and  archdeacons,  etc.  Hence  have 
arisen  sectarian  animosities  and  the  spirit  of  domination ;  all  this  had 
come  of  men's  forsaking  the  rule  of  the  New  Testament,  according  to 
which  it  were  better  that  there  should  be  but  one  order.4 

II.  The  Movements  of  Reform  in  Bohemia. 

1.  Forerunners  of  John  Huss. 

The  great  reformatory  movement  in  Bohemia  dates  back  to  Militz, 
the  individual  who  gave  the  first  impulse  to  it.     We  see  his  influence 

1  Dial.  p.  130.  3  Ibid.  p.  308. 

2  Vauehan,  torn.  II,  p.  273  note.  4  Ibid. 

15* 


174  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

continuing  still  to  operate  through  his  disciples,  Matthias  of  Janow  and 
John  Huss.  Militz  came  from  Cremsia  in  Moravia.  He  was  appoint- 
ed archdeacon  to  the  cathedral  church  in  Prague,  enjoyed  a  hand- 
some income,  and  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  king  of  Bohemia, 
and  of  the  emperor  Charles  IV.,  whose  secretary  and  chancellor  he 
was,  and  whom  he  attended  when  he  went  abroad,  as  for  example,  in 
his  journey  to  Germany.1  Even  then  he  was  distinguished  for  his 
untiring,  pious  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  for  his  self-sacrificing, 
disinterested  charity.  He  devoted  himself  with  an  earnest  spirit  to 
the  duty  of  church  visitations,  and  when  employed  on  this  service  de- 
clined the  support  he  was  entitled  to  from  the  parish  priests,  defray- 
ing his  own  expenses  without  living  at  the  cost  of  any  one.2  His  piety 
had  a  tinge  of  ascetic  austerity ;  a  thing  not  uncommon  in  the  most 
different  periods,  with  persons  of  a  serious,  devout  spirit,  who,  from 
grieving  over  the  corruption  of  their  times,  and  from  disgust  at  the 
worldliness  of  a  clergy  sunk  in  luxury  and  ease,  naturally  fell  into  this 
peculiar  bent.  With  his  pastoral  visitations  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
uniting  exercises  of  penance,  wearing  a  rough  hair-shirt,  or  sometimes 
two,  next  to  his  skin.3  But  the  ardent  zeal  of  this  good  man  could  not 
be  satisfied  with  these  labors.  He  felt  himself  impelled  to  take  a  more 
earnest  interest,  as  a  preacher  and  pastor,  in  the  poor,  forsaken  peo- 
ple, whose  necessities  seemed  to  require  it.  This  was  a  duty  which 
he  supposed  he  had  yet  to  learn ;  his  life  appeared  to  him  to  be  still 
too  worldly.  He  felt  himself  moved  to  renounce  splendor,  honor, 
comfort ;  to  strive  after  a  closer  imitation,  even  to  the  letter,  of  the 
life  of  Christ  and  the  apostles.  This  idea,  of  whose  influence  in  these 
times  we  have  often  had  occasion  to  speak,  the  idea  of  following  Christ 
in  preaching  the  gospel  in  poverty  and  humility,  had  taken  possession 
also  of  the  heart  of  this  devout  man.  He,  therefore,  resolved  to  re- 
sign his  present  post,  and  give  up  his  whole  income.  In  vain  did  the 
members  of  the  cathedral  chapter  try  to  dissuade  him  from  carrying 
this  resolution  into  effect.  In  vain  did  Ernest,  the  archbishop  of 
Prague,  who  felt  unwilling  to  part  with  such  a  fellow-laborer,  say  to 
him,  "  What  better  thing  can  you  possibly  do,  than  to  stand  by  your 
poor  bishop  in  his  watch  over  the  flock  ?  "  He  retired,  in  the  autumn 
of  1363,  to  the  little  town  of  Bischofteinitz,  in  the  Pilsen  circuit,  where 
he  spent  half  a  year  in  the  capacity  of  an  assistant  to  the  parish  priest, 
zealously  laboring  as  a  preacher  and  curate.  The  priest  owned  a  fine 
garden,  stocked  with  fruit-trees.  Militz  felt  himself  strongly  attracted 
to  this  spot.  But  the  stern  man,  stern  and  severe  to  himself,  looked 
even  upon  this  as  a  temptation  of  Satan.  Thou  art  come  here,  said 
he  to  himself,  not  to  enjoy  thy  ease,  but  to  work,  to  look  after  poor 

1  Vid.  Franz  Palacky  Geschichte  von  3  The  words  of  his  disciples  in  the  bio- 
Bohmen,  3  Bd.  1  Abthiel.  Prag.  1845,  p.  graphical  sketch  mentioned  in  the  preced- 
164.  ing  note,  p.  45  :  Statim  coepit  in  cilicio  pe- 

2  See  the  Life  of  Militz,  by  one  of  his  ragere  poenitentiam,  et  quando  iter  alicu- 
disciples,  which  the  Jesuit  Balbirus  has  jus  partis  arripie'bat,  tunc  duo  cilicia  caute 
published  in  the  Miscellaneis  hist,  regni  et  secrete  cognato  suo  clerico.  nomine  Ste- 
Bohemiae,  Pragae,  1682,  decadis  I,  lib.  IV,  phano,  quasi  pro  majori  suo  thesauro  stu- 
pors II,  tit.  34,  p.  44.  diose  recommendabat  custodienda. 


MILITZ,  PREACHER    OF   REPENTANCE    IN    PRAGUE.  175 

souls ;  and  he  denied  himself  the  relaxation  of  the  garden  and  the  en- 
joyment of  its  fruit. 

Having  disciplined  himself  in  this  way  for  half  a  year,  he  returned 
to  Prague  ;  and  without  accepting  any  particular  o'fice  to  which  a 
salary  was  affixed,  he  began  to  preach  to  the  people  in  the  language 
of  the  country,  first  at  St.  Nicholas  in  the  Klein  quarter,  then  at  St. 
Aegidius  in  the  old  town.  His  novel  and  simple  way  of  preaching 
met,  at  first,  with  but  little  favor.1  He  was  derided  on  account  of  his 
pronunciation,  and  his  want  of  readiness  in  repeating  certain  liturgical 
forms,  and  in  announcing  festivals.2  He  had  but  a  small  number  of 
hearers.  His  friends  advised  him  to  give  up  preaching,  as  he  could 
accomplish  nothing  in  that  way.  How  many  devout  and  learned  men 
had  failed  as  preachers  !  Why  should  he  expend  his  energies  to  no 
purpose  ?  But  Militz  replied  :  "  If  I  can  save  but  a  single  soul,  it  will 
satisfy  me.  The  example  of  my  Saviour  teaches  me  this,  who  did  not 
disdain  to  accept  the  one  Canaanite  woman."  As  nothing  could  divert 
him  from  his  purpose,  so  his  fervent  zeal  was  soon  crowned  with  the 
happiest  results.  His  sermons  produced  more  effect  every  day.  Many 
men  and  women  were  awakened  to  repentance  under  them,  confessed 
their  sins  to  him,  and  commenced  a  new  christian  life.  Usurers  and 
others  pursuing  unlawful  gains,  renounced  their  old  wicked  courses. 
Many  filled  with  disgust  at  the  life  of  the  world,  withdrew  from  it  into 
a  rigid  ascetic  tendency.  These  results  of  his  labors  stimulated  him  to 
still  greater  activity.  He  preached  twice  every  Sunday  and  holiday, 
and  occasionally  three,  four,  and  even  five  times  daily,  in  different 
churches  ;  and  his  sermons,  which  were  listened  to  with  constantly 
increasing  attention,  lasted  several  hours.  He  had  but  little  time, 
therefore,  to  prepare  for  them.  He  endeavored  to  gain  strength  for 
this  duty  in  prayer.  Other  learned  clergymen  had  to  complain,  that 
with  their  utmost  exertion,  they  could  not  accomplish  what  Militz  was 
enabled  to  do  after  an  hour's  preparation.  On  finishing  the  labors 
of  the  day,  when  he  returned  home  weary  and  exhausted  with  so 
much  preaching,  he  was  surrounded  and  followed  by  multitudes,  seek- 
ing spiritual  consolation  and  advice,  which  he  imparted  to  all  with 
kindness  and  affection.  At  an  advanced  period  of  his  life  he  learned 
German,  for  the  purpose  of  extending  his  labors  also  to  the  German 
population,  and  he  now  preached  in  this  language  as  well  as  his  own. 
To  the  students  of  the  university  of  Prague,  and  to  the  learned,  he 
preached  in  the  Latin  language,  and  was  listened  to  by  eager  crowds. 
He  had  to  lend  his  sermons  for  the  students  to  copy;  and  thus  they 
became  multiplied.  Matthias  of  Janow,  his  enthusiastic  disciple,  of 
whom  we  shall  speak  more  particularly  hereafter,  says  of  him :  "  Hav- 
ing Ween  a  simple  priest  and  secretary  at  the  prince's  court,  before  his 
experience  of  this  visitation  by  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he  grew  so  rich  in 
wisdom  and  all  utterance  of  doctrine,  that  it  was  a  light  matter  to  him 
to  preach  live  times  in  a  day ;  namely,  once  in  Latin,  once  in  German, 

1   In    the    biography  above   cited,  p.  45,        2  Propter  oblivionem  in  festis  incidendis 
it  is  said:    Propter  incongruentiam  vulga-    Ibid, 
lis  scrmonis. 


176  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

and  then  again  in  the  Bohemian  tongue,  and  this  publicly,  with  mighty 
fervor  and  a  powerful  voice,  and  he  constantly  brought  forth  from  his 
treasures  things  new  and  old."  l  Great  was  the  effect  produced  by 
the  preaching  of  Militz,  on  the  female  sex  in  particular ;  manv  were 
induced  by  his  sermons  to  lay  aside  their  ornaments  of  pride.2  Through 
all  Bohemia  were  to  be  found  young  maidens  who  owed  to  him  their 
conversion,  and  presented  patterns  of  true  piety  in  their  womanly  vir- 
tues.3 Prague  was  then  a  seat  of  extreme  depravation  of  manners. 
There  was  one  quarter  of  the  city  devoted  wholly  to  pleasure ;  full  of 
brothels,  — "  Little  Venice,"  as  it  was  called,  and,  in  Bohemian, 
Bmaiky.  Militz  proposed  to  transform  this  seat  of  sin  into  a  seat  of 
the  christian  virtues.  He  commenced  with  little  beginnings,  and  end- 
ed  with  great  results.  He  succeeded  at  first  in  converting  twenty 
licentious  women.  He  got  them  to  dwell  in  one  house.  He  found 
devout  women  in  good  circumstances,  who  were  willing  to  look  after 
them.  He  took  unwearied  pains  himself  in  promoting  their  moral  im- 
provement. Some  of  them  were  married  to  husbands,  others  taken 
into  the  service  of  pious  ladies.  At  length  he  succeeded  in  extending 
his  labors  to  several  hundreds.  The  houses  of  licentiousness  were 
emptied.  The  place  which  they  had  occupied  was  partly  given  up  by 
the  emperor  and  the  magistrates  of  the  city  to  Militz,  for  the  promo- 
tion of  his  pious  object,  and  other  houses  were  purchased  with  money 
supplied  by  charitable  contributions.  He  founded  here  a  Magdalene 
hospital,  with  a  chapel,  in  which  there  was  preaching  every  day  for 
the  benefit  of  the  new  converts.  "  Little  Venice,"  now  converted 
into  a  seat  of  piety,  obtained  the  name  of  "  Little  Jerusalem."  We 
see,  in  Militz,  one  of  the  leaders  and  founders  of  domestic  missions ; 
—  an  institution  much  needed  in  such  an  age.  Matthias  of  Janow 
thus  describes  these  labors  of  Militz,  by  which  Prague  underwent  so 
complete  a  change  :  "  0,  how  many  vices,  conquered  by  him,  had  to 
give  up  the  field  !  And  if  Militz  had  not  come,  and  so  much  had  not 
been  accomplished  by  his  voice  thundering  to  the  skies,  we  should,  of 
a  truth,  have  been  as  Sodom,  and  perished  like  Gomorrah.  But  now, 
by  the  grace  of  Christ,  through  the  energy  and  pains  of  Militz,  Sodom 
has  been  restored  to  her  ancient  worth  ;  from  being  a  Babylon,  Prague 
is  spiritually  transformed,  full  of  the  word  of  Christ,  and  of  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation  ;  for  now,  that  the  abominable,  the  open  and  public 

1  From  a  manuscript  work  of  Matth.  of  candum,  clamandum  et  laborandum  ;  rem- 

Janow,  "De   regulis    veteris  et  novi  tes-  muniter  autem    bis   et   ter  in  die  festivo 

tamenti: "    Nam    cum   fuit   ante   simplex  praedicabat ;  quotidie  very    sine   interrup- 

presbyter  et  scriptor  in  curiis  principum,  tione  unum  sermonem  faciebat. 

antequam  f uit  siccine  a  spiritu  Jesu.  visita-  2  Crescente  itaque    praedicatione    ejus, 

tus,   in    tantum    sapientia   et   omni  verbo  incoeperunt  mulieres   superbac  pepla  alta, 

doctrinae   dives   est  effectus,  quod   facile  et  gemmis  circumdata  caputia,   et    vesti- 

erat  eidem  quinquies  in  uno  die  praedica-  menta  auro  et   argento   ornata  deponere. 

re,  puta  semel  in  latino  sermone,  semel  in  Balbinus,  1. 1.  p.  46. 

teutonieo,  et   iterum  boumico,  et  hoc  pub-  3  Matth.  of  Janow,  in  the  work  cited  in 

lice  et  in  communi  cum  clamore  et  zelo  va-  the   preceding  note,  says  :  Adolescularnm 

lido,  atque  in  singulis  nova  et  Vetera  de  autem  virginum  et  viduarum  non  erat  nu- 

suo  thesauro  proferendo  et  in  magno  ordi-  merus,  quia  miro  modo  igne  caritatis  Jesu 

ne,  pondere  et  mensura,  ita  ut  potest  hinc  a  verbo   ipsius  inflammatae   usque   hodie 

elici,  quod  tota  dies  cedebat  sibi  ad  praedi-  per  universam  Boemiam  perseverant. 


MILITZ'S    INTENTION   TO   ENTER   A    CONVENT.  177 

vices  have  been  conquered,  the  christian  virtues  find  room  to  bud  and 
blossom  in  many  souls,  and  increase  daily  both  in  number  and  vigor."  i 
The  same  Matthias  of  Janow  remarks  of  this  extraordinary  man :  "  I 
confess  that  I  cannot  enumerate  even  the  tenth  part  of  what  my  own 
eyes  saw,  my  own  ears  heard,  and  my  hands  handled,  though  I  lived 
with  him  but  a  short  time." 

But  Militz  was  not  so  well  satisfied  with  himself.  After  he  had  thus 
labored  for  a  period  of  from  five  to  six  years  in  Prague,  and  also  in 
several  other  cities  within  the  circle  of  Olmutz,  the  sense  of  his  own 
unworthiness  was  too  much  for  him  ;  he  was  desirous  of  withdrawing 
from  the  office  of  preacher,  and  of  consecrating  himself  to  a  still  more 
rigid  life  as  a  monk.  But  the  advice  of  his  friends,  and  their  repre- 
sentations of  the  bad  effects  which  must  necessarily  result  from  the 
sudden  interruption  of  such  active  and  successful  labors,  held  him  back. 
Militz  expresses  his  own  feelings  thus  :  "  I  was  in  the  Spirit,  and  medi- 
tated on  what  is  written  in  the  Revelation  —  To  him  that  overcometh 
will  I  give  of  the  tree  of  life  ;  and  I  knew  that  if  I  overcame  the  sin 
that  is  in  me,  I  should  taste  of  the  tree  of  life,  or  of  the  understanding 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  I  prayed  often,  that  Almighty  God  would  give 
me  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  anoint  me  with  his  unction,  that  I  might  not 
fall  into  any  error,  and  might  enjoy  the  taste  and  perfume  of  true  wis- 
dom, so  that  I  might  deceive  none  and  be  deceived  by  none,  and  wish 
no  longer  to  know  anything  but  what  is  necessary  for  me  and  the  holy 
church.  And  soon  a  voice  thundered  in  my  heart,  telling  me  how  I 
once  longed  to  taste  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
and  to  know  more  than  I  could  know ;  and  although,  collecting  my 
thoughts  within  me,  I  had  often  done  penance  for  this,  I  had  still  not  ful- 
ly understood  how  blind  I  was,  how  much  I  needed  to  crucify  the  flesh, 
to  deny  myself  in  my  own  heart,  and  to  take  upon  me  the  cross  of 
Christ.  I  understand  this  now.  Therefore  the  Spirit,  speaking  to  me 
in  my  heart,  told  me  that  I  should  begin  to  take  up  the  cross,  crucify 
my  flesh,  forsake  and  deny  myself ,  and  enter  upon  the  monastic  life  ; 
that  I  should  think  meanly  of  mj  self,  and  not  preach ;  for  I  was  not 
yet  "fit  for  it.  And  I  was  held  back  from  doing  so  by  all  my  advisers, 
who  remonstrated  against  it ;  but  still  I  have,  for  a  long  time,  abstained 
from  preaching." 

From  this  confession  we  see  that  Militz,  in  contemplating  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  church,  was  filled  with  the  sense  of  his  own  unworthiness, 
so  as  to  be  on  the  point  of  retiring  wholly  from  the  world  ;  as  he  actu- 
ally did  abstain,  for  a  while,  from  preaching.  But  he  must  soon  have  felt 
himself  impelled  again,  by  that  spirit  of  Elias  which  possessed  him,  in- 
stead of  retiring  into  solitude,  to  stand  forth  and  manfully  contend  with 

1  The  words  of  Matth.  of  Janow:  O  lone  spiritualiter  facta  est  Praga  jam  abun- 

quam  multa  vitiact  abundantia  omnis  ini-  dans  omni  verbo  Christi  et  doctrina  saluta- 

quitatis  abierunt  retro  debellata,  perinde-  ri,  nam  vitiis  borrendis,  praesertim  publi- 

que  nisi   Myliczius  renisset,  et  procul  du-  cis,  jam  depugnatis  ct  post  tergum  projec- 

bio  buo  clamore  ad  coelum  usque  effecisset,  tis,  virtutes  Christi  Jesu  in  animabus  jam 

quod   prorsus  quasi  Sodoma  et  ([nasi  Go-  pulsant  caputque  erigentes  continue  atque 

morra  periissemus,   Ast  nunc  Chnsto  Jesu  quotidie  invalescunt  secundum  numerum 

propitio,  virtute  et  labore  Myliczii  Sodoma  et  gradus,  Jesu  crucifixo  ipsis  praestante 

icdiit  in  antiquam  dignitatem,  et  de  Baby-  gloriosa  incrementa. 


178  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  corruptions  of  his  age.  During  this  period  of  his  temporary  seclusion 
from  the  world,  Militz  glanced  from  the  present  —  as  the  corruption  of 
the  church  prompted  many  persons  of  a  reformatory  and  presageful 
spirit,  in  these  times,  to  do  —  to  the  dawning  morn  of  a  better  future. 
In  those  signs  of  the  time,  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament  as  harbin- 
gers of  Christ's  advent,  have  often  been  depicted  to  the  eyes  of  in- 
spired seers  the  signs  of  some  approaching  new  epoch  for  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  They  could  cast  presaging  glances  into  the  future,  though 
they  failed  of  the  exact  truth  in  particulars,  and  they  erred  in  this  re- 
spect, that,  overlooking  the  manifold  intermediate  epochs  which  are  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  great  and  final  crisis,  they  looked  upon  this 
last  itself  as  the  one  immediately  impending.  Thus  Militz  sought  to 
interpret  the  signs  of  the  present  by  comparing  them  with  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  Old  Testament,  the  last  discourses  of  Christ,  and  the  pro- 
phetical intimations  in  the  epistles  of  St  Paul.  He  saw  the  way  pre- 
paring for  a  divine  judgment  on  the  corrupt  church  ;  he  foresaw  a 
renovation  of  the  church,  by  which  it  was  to  be  prepared  for  the 
second  advent  of  Christ.  The  prophetic  images  which  presented  them- 
selves in  his  visions,  appeared  to  him  as  revelations  of  the  Divine  Spirit. 
From  him  as  the  source  proceeded  those  prophetic  ideas,  which  further 
developed  afterwards  by  his  disciple  Matthias  of  Janow,  extended  their 
influence  also  to  John  Huss.  Important  in  this  regard  is  particularly 
his  tract  De  Antichristo,  which  has  been  preserved  by  Matthias  of  Ja- 
now in  his  own  larger  work  above  cited.  Under  the  "  abomination  of 
desolation,"  (Matt,  xxv.)  he  finds  signified  corruption  in  all  parts  of 
the  church.  The  apostasy  of  the  Jewish  nation  from  divine  truth  ap- 
pears to  him  an  ante-type  of  the  fall  of  the  secularized  church  from 
evangelical  truth.  Antichrist,  he  supposes,  is  not  still  to  come,  but  has 
come  already.  He  says  in  his  tract  on  the  Antichrist :  "Where  Christ 
speaks  of  the  "  abomination  "  in  the  temple,  he  invites  us  to  look  round 
and  observe  how,  through  the  negligence  of  her  pastors,  the  church  lies 
desolate ;  just  as,  by  the  negligence  of  its  pastors,  the  synagogue 
lay  desolate.  Hence  if  at  present  the  church  has  abundance  of  peace 
and  superfluity  of  earthly  riches,  still  it  has  been  deprived  of  spiritual 
riches,  and  so  is  fulfilled  that  word  of  prophecy,  Iniquity  has  taken  the 
upper  hand.  Has  not  love  grown  cold  ;  has  not  iniquity  taken  the  up- 
per hand  ?  Therefore  have  they  many  prebends  which  they  have  ob- 
tained by  simony,  or  through  avarice  ;  while  many  others  are  driven 
thereby  to  beg  or  steal  ;  the  poor  members  of  Christ  are  deprived  of 
what  belongs  to  them.  Hence  the  sale  and  purchase  of  sacraments,  of 
burial-places  ;  hence  much  simony  in  the  monastic  orders  ;  hence  pri- 
vate possessions  in  the  hands  of  those  who  have  renounced  riches. 
Are  not  these  abominations  and  idols  ?  And  thus  the  temple  of  God 
lies  desolate,  through  the  hypocrisy  that  reigns  almost  universally  ;  so 
that  the  priests  are  one  thing,  but  would  be  called  another.  The 
monks  hear  confessions  indiscriminately,  without  obtaining  leave  from 
the  diocesan  authorities.  He  next  surveys  the  corruption  in  all  ranks 
of  society,  in  kings,  princes,  noblemen,  merchants,  artisans,  peasantry  ; 
notices  how  debauchery,  luxury,  perversion  of  justice,  oppression  of 


THE    "  DE    ANTICHRISTO  "    OF   MILITZ.  179 

the  poor,  every  description  of  vice,  abounded  ;  how  more  faith  was 
given  to  the  conjuror's  art  than  to  the  gospel.  "  When  I  considered  all 
this  —  he  says  —  I  said  to  the  Spirit,  which  spake  within  me,  Who  is 
Antichrist  ?  And  he  answered,  There  are  many  Antichrists.  He  who 
denies  Christ,  and  the  authority  of  Christ,  is  an  Antichrist.  And  a3 
many  who  say  they  know  him,  deny  him  by  their  works,  while  others 
deny  him  by  keeping  still  and  not  daring  to  confess  him  and  the  truth 
of  his  cause  before  men  ;  conclude  from  this  who  is  Antichrist."  The 
appearance  of  Antichrist  being,  in  the  opinion  of  Militz,  not  a  tiring  still 
in  the  future,  but  already  present,  it  was  his  opinion  also  that  the  an- 
gels, whom  Christ  was  to  send  forth  before  the  last  judgment,  to  gather 
up  the  tares  and  to  sound  the  trumpet  of  judgment,  symbolized  the 
preachers  of  divine  truth,  who  were  to  be  sent  out,  before  the  second 
advent  of  Christ,  into  all  quarters,  to  attack  and  destroy  the  reign  of 
Antichrist  and  to  testify  of  Christ.  When  Militz  strove  to  suppress 
these  thoughts  concerning  the  last  times,  as  temptations,  he  found  they 
were  too  mighty  for  him.  He  was  forced  to  give  up  to  them.  He 
felt  himself  called  to  inform  Pope  Urban  V.  of  the  visions  which  rose 
in  his  mind,  and  to  use  them  in  warning  and  admonishing  that  pope. 
He  must  go  —  for  such  he  supposed  was  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  —  and 
tell  the  pope  that  he  had  been  called,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  the  duty 
of  bringing  back  the  church  to  the  way  of  salvation,  the  duty  of  send- 
ing forth  the  angels  or  preachers,  with  the  trumpets  of  the  message 
and  loud  voices,  that  they  might  remove  those  scandals  from  the  field 
of  God  or  from  the  church  ;  and  as  the  harvest,  or  the  end  of  the 
world  drew  near,  that  he  should  now  root  up  the  tares,  the  heretics, 
false  prophets,  hypocrites,  Beghards  and  Beguins,1  and  schismatics, 
who  were  all  designated  by  the  names  Gog  and  Magog ;  that  then  the 
fulness  of  the  Gentiles  would  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
true  Israel  alone  be  left  standing  ;  and  thus  all  would  be  one  shepherd 
and  one  fold,  and  bound  together  by  such  cords  of  love — if  not  all,  }*et 
many — that  all  things  would  be  held  in  common,  as  the  Holy  Ghost 
should  direct.  Accordingly  he  must  advise  the  pope  to  call  a  general 
council,  at  which  all  the  bishops  might  unite  in  some  plan  for  the  refor- 
mation of  the  communities  entrusted  to  their  charge,  and  for  the  resto- 
ration of  good  discipline.  Monks  and  secular  priests  should  be  ex- 
horted to  go  forth  as  preachers  ;  for  many  of  them  wasted  away  their 
lives  in  idleness,  when  they  might  be  active  in  labors,  and  strong  in 
dispensing  the  word.  The  pope  was  to  make  arrangements  for  a  gene- 
ral crusade,  i.  e.  a  peaceful  crusade  of  men  preaching  the  Lord  and 
righting  for  him,  prepared  to  die  —  to  suffer  for  Christ — rather  than 
to  k\\\.'2     These  should  overcome  the  beast  (of  the  Apocalypse)   or 

1  It  will  he  remembered  that  this  name,  dominum   praedieantibus   et  pugnantibus 

since  the  times  of  the   13th  century,  was  pins  inori  (mam  occidere,  pati  pro  Christo. 

variously  used,  sometimes  in  a  good  and  Militz's  language  is  somewhat  obsi  ure,  as 

sometimes  in  a  bad  sense,  to  denote  truly  it  is  in  the  whole  of  this  writing.     It  may 

devout,  also  fanatical  and  hypocritical  ten-  be  understood  to  mean,  that   the  sending 

dencies,  and  even  such  as  proceeded  from  forth  of  preachers  was  to  be  distinguished 

a  wildly  enthusiastic  pantheism.  from  a  proper  crusade,     lint  it  hardly  cor- 

*  Iline  faciat  passagium  generate,  aliis  responds  with  the  spirit  of  Militz  to  .sup- 


180  HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

Antichrist,  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  build  a  safe  highway  to  the 
land  of  eternal  promise.  Not  a  crusade,  therefore,  for  the  opening  a 
way  to  the  Jerusalem  on  earth,  but  a  spiritual  crusade,  which,  by  the 
triumphant  diffusion  of  the  word  of  Christ,  should  make  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem  accessible  to  all,  was  what  Militz  had  in  mind.  He  beholds, 
in  spirit,  how  many  martyrs  would  die  for  the  truth,  and  by  the  blood 
of  these  martyrs  the  sins  of  the  Christian  people  should  be  expiated. 
"  Were  these  to  be  silent — says  he  —  the  very  stones  would  cry  out." 
Militz,  in  the  year  1367,  felt  himself  called  to  go  to  Rome  ;  and  took 
with  him,  as  companions,  Theodoric  a  monk,  and  one  of  his  disciples  of  the 
ecclesiastical  order.  He  went  to  Rome  either  because  he  hoped  to  find 
Pope  Urban  V.  already  there,  (the  report  that  Urban  intended  to  trans- 
fer the  seat  of  the  papacy  back  to  that  city,  having  perhaps  already 
reached  Prague,)  or  because  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  testify,  first  of 
all,  in  the  ancient  seat  of  the  papacy  and  the  chief  city  of  Christendom, 
concerning  the  revelation  of  Antichrist  and  the  preparation  for  Christ's 
second  coming.  He  had  resided  in  Rome  a  month,  preparing  himself, 
by  study  of  the  Scriptures,  prayer,  and  fasting,  for  the  work  to  which 
he  felt  himself  called.  The  pope,  however,  did  not  make  his  appear- 
ance ;  his  return  to  Rome  was  still  delayed,  and  Militz  could  no  longer 
keep  silent.  He  caused  a  notification  to  be  posted  up  at  the  entrance 
of  St.  Peter's  church,  that  on  a  certain  day  he  would  there  make  his 
public  appearance  and  address  the  assembled  multitude  ;  that  he  would 
announce  the  coming  of  Antichrist  and  exhort  the  people  to  pray  for  the 
pope  and  the  emperor,  that  they  might  be  enabled  so  to  order  the  af- 
fairs of  the  church,  in  things  spiritual  and  temporal,  that  the  faithful 
might  securely  serve  their  Creator.1  He  proposed,  moreover,  to  re- 
duce his  sermon  to  writing,  that  his  language  might  not  be  misconstrued 
and  represented  as  heretical,  and  that  what  he  spoke  might  be  more 
widely  published  abroad .2  But  a  notice  of  this  sort  could  not  fail  to 
excite  suspicion,  and  Militz  had  already,  by  his  castigatory  sermons, 
drawn  down  upon  himself  the  hatred  of  the  mendicant  monks  in  Prague ; 
he  was  therefore  waylaid  and  apprehended,  and  the  inquisitor,  who  be- 
longed to  the  Dominican  order,  placed  him  under  arrest.  He  was  to 
be  called  before  the  tribunal.  His  companion  Theodoric  was  shut  up 
in  a  Dominican  convent.  Militz,  loaded  with  chains,  was  delivered 
over  to  the  Franciscans,  to  be  kept  in  close  confinement.  He  shower! 
the  greatest  patience  and  gentleness  under  his  sufferings  ;   not  a  word 

pose  he  meant  that  infidels  were  to  he  at-  praedicare,  quod  antiehristus  venit,  et  co- 
tacked  hy  force  of  arms.  The  import  of  hortari  eos  velles  et  populum,  ut  orent 
the  whole  seems  rather  to  be  that  the  cru-  pro  domino  nostro  papa  et  pro  domino 
sade  was  not  to  be  one  in  the  literal  sense,  imperatore,  ut  ita  ordinent  ecclesiam  sanc- 
but  the  opposite  —  a  spiritual  crusade.  tarn  in  spiritualibus  et  temporalibus,  ut 
1  Militz  himself  reports  this  in  his  pa-  securi  fideles  deserviant  creatori.  It  is- 
per  on  the  Antichrist ;  Et  tunc  jam  de-  evident  that  the  author  of  the  biographi- 
sperassem  de  adventu  domini  nostri  pa-  *cal  sketch  of  Militz,  published  by  Balbin, 
pae,  .  .  .  et  tunc  irruit  in  me  spiritus,  ita  had  this  paper  before  him,  and  that  his 
ut  me  continere  non  possem,  dicens  in  cor-  account  is  founded  on  it. 
de,  vade  in  Roma,  publice  pertracta,  qua  2  Militz  expresses  himself  as  follows : 
quomodo  affligetur  hostis  ecclesiae  S.  Pe-  Et  dabis  in  scriptis  sermonem  ilium,  ne 
tri,  sic  sollicitus  fuisti  intiinare  in  Praga,  immutent  verba  tua,  et  ut  materia  divol- 
quoniam    eris   praedicaturus,   quod   velis  getur. 


RETURN   OF   MILITZ   TO   PRAGUE.  181 

of  revenge  escaped  his  lips  ;  his  meek  forbearance  confounded  his  per- 
secutors. His  companion  Theodoric  found  it  more  difficult  to  suppress 
his  indignation  at  such  unjust  treatment  ;  but  Militz  admonished  him 
to  think  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  who  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  opened  not  his  mouth.  A  devout  woman  in  Rome  chari- 
tably undertook  to  provide  for  their  wants  ;  but  Militz  was  greatly 
pained  when  he  came  to  be  informed  that  she  sent  better  food  to  him 
than  to  his  companion  Theodoric.  After  having  been  long  detained  in 
close  confinement,  he  was  asked,  what  it  had  been  his  intention  to 
preach.  He  requested  his  examiners  to  give  him  the  Bible,  which  had 
been  taken  from  him  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  with  paper,  pen,  and  ink, 
and  he  would  put  his  discourse  in  writing.  This  was  granted,  and  his 
fetters  were  removed.  Before  a  large  assembly  of  prelates  and  learned 
men,  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  he  delivered  a  discourse  in  Latin, 
which  produced  a  great  impression.  He  was  then  conducted  back  to 
his  prison,  but  treated  with  less  severity.  It  was  in  his  cell  that  he 
afterwards  composed  his  above-mentioned  work  "  On  the  Antichrist," 
as  appears  from  his  own  words :  "  The  author  writes  this,  a  prisoner 
and  in  chains,  troubled  in  spirit,  longing  for  the  freedom  of  Christ's 
church,  longing  that  Christ  would  speak  the  word,  Let  it  be,  and  it 
shall  be  ;  and  protesting  that  he  has  not  kept  back  that  which  was  in 
his  heart,  but  has  spoken  it  out  to  the  church,  and  that  he  is  prepared 
to  hold  fast  to  whatever  the  pope  or  the  church  may  lay  on  him." 
But  no  sooner  had  Pope  Urban  arrived  at  Rome,  than  the  situation  of 
Militz  was  altered  for  the  better.  He  was  set  free  from  prison  and 
received  into  the  palace  of  a  cardinal ;  he  had  a  favorable  audience 
with  the  pope,  and  returned  back  to  Prague  to  the  great  joy  of  his 
community.  The  exultation  at  his  return  wTas  the  greater,  because  his 
enemies,  the  mendicants,  had  foretold  to  the  people  from  the  pulpit,  that 
he  would  perish  at  the  stake. 

He  recommenced  with  new  zeal  his  labors  in  Prague.  He  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  little  good  that  could  be  effected  by  his  own  personal 
labors  in  preaching.  He  was  often  heard  to  say :  "  Would  that  all 
were  prophets."  He  set  up  a  school  for  preachers.  And  when  he 
had  trained  up  an  able  young  priest,  he  took  pains  himself  to  draw 
upon  him  the  attention  of  the  communities,  pointing  him  out  as  one 
who  would  surpass  his  master,  as  one  whom  they  should  listen  to  with 
care.  He  founded  an  association  composed  of  two  or  three  hundred 
young  men,  all  of  whom  resided  under  the  same  roof  with  himself, 
were  trained  under  his  influence,  and  by  his  society.  He  copied  the 
books  which  they  were  to  study,  and  gave  them  devotional  books  to 
copy  themselves,  for  the  sake  of  multiplying  them.  All  here  was  to  be 
free ;  to  flow  spontaneously  from  the  one  animating  spirit  by  which  all 
were  to  be  governed.  An  internal  tie  was  all  that  held  them  together  ; 
no  outward  discipline  or  rule,  no  vow,  no  uniformity  of  dress.  The 
disciples  of  Militz  soon  distinguished  themselves  by  their  serious,  spirit- 
ual lives,  and  by  their  style  of  preaching.  Hence  they  too,  like  him- 
self, were  made  butts  of  ridicule  and  persecution  by  the  worldly-minded 
clergy,  whom  the  lives  of  these  exemplary  young  men  stung  with  shame 
vol.  v.  16 


182  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

and  reproach.  They  were  nick-named  Militzans,  Beghards.  The  bene- 
ficence of  Militz  was  without  bounds.  Crowds  of  the  poor  were  always 
to  be  seen  collected  before  his  doors.  He  gave  all  he  had  to  help 
them  ;  reserving  nothing  at  all  for  himself;  so  that  when  everything 
else  was  gone,  he  sold  his  books,  the  very  books  which  he  used  himself, 
and  which  he  kept  ready  to  lend  to  any  that  needed.1  When  he  had 
nothing  more  he  ran  round  among  other  clergymen  and  the  rich,  and 
collected  contributions,2  never  allowing  himself  to  lose  heart  by  any  rude 
rebuff  he  might  chance  to  receive  from  those  whose  charities  he  asked. 
Nothing  was  left  him  but  the  most  indispensable  articles  of  clothing  ; 
not  even  what  was  needful  to  protect  him,  in  midwinter,  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  season.  A  rich  man  had  said :  Militz  suffered  so 
much  from  the  cold,  he  would  be  glad  to  present  him  with  a  set  of 
furs  if  he  could  only  be  sure  that  he  would  keep  it.  On  hearing  of 
it,  Militz  observed  :  He  was  far  from  wishing  to  keep  anything  for 
himself  alone ;  on  that  condition  he  could  not  accept  of  the  furs.  He 
was  often  persecuted  and  stigmatized  as  a  heretic ;  but  his  patience 
and  gentleness  never  failed  him  for  a  moment ;  and  he  used  to  say : 
"  Let  me  suffer  ever  so  much  persecution,  when  I  bethink  me  of  the 
fervent  penitence  of  that  poor  woman  —  referring  to  one  who  had  been 
converted  by  his  means  from  a  life  of  licentiousness  and  crime  —  the 
bitterest  cup  becomes  sweet  to  me,  for  all  /suffer  is  as  nothing  com- 
pared to  the  grief  of  that  one  woman." 

The  enemies  of  Militz  at  length  extracted  from  his  sermons  twelve 
articles,  which  they  sent  to  a  certain  Master  Klonkot,  an  agent  of 
theirs,  probably  himself  a  Bohemian,  who  happened  to  be  present  at 
the  papal  court  in  Avignon.  It  is  very  manifest  how  wide  an  influ- 
ence Militz  must  have  already  gained  by  means  of  his  school.  The 
pope  saw  clearly  that  such  doctrines  would  be  disseminated  through 
Bohemia,  Poland,  and  Silesia.  He  put  forth  several  bulls  to  the  arch- 
bishop of  Gnesen,  the  bishop  of  Breslau,  the  archbishop  of  Prague, 
and  to  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.  He  expressed  his  surprise  to  the 
bishops  that  they  should  have  tolerated  until  now  the  spread  of  such 
heretical,  schismatic  doctrines  through  so  wide  a  circle ;  called  upon 
them  to  suppress  the  same,  and  bring  Militz  and  his  adherents  to  pun- 
ishment. Yet  even  Gregory  XI.  must  assuredly  have  been  still  some- 
what uncertain  himself  whether  wrong  had  not  been  done  to  Militz  ; 
for  he  uses  the  qualifying  expressions,  —  "  if  it  is  so  "  —  "  if  you  find 
that  it  is  so."  3  In  the  bull  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Charles,  he 
says  :  "  We  have  recently  learned  from  the  report  of  several  credible 
persons,  that  a  certain  priest  Militz,  formerly  a  canonical  at  Prague, 
under  the  garb  of  sanctity,  but  in  the  spirit  of  temerity  and  selfeon- 
ceit,  has  taken  upon  himself  the  calling  to  preach  which  does  not 
belong  to  him,  and  has  dared  to  teach  openly  in  your  dominions  many 

1  Propter  qnod  dum  omnibus  libris,  words  just  cited :  Tunc  mutuando  a  divi- 
quos  solos  pro  docendo  habuerat,  et  pau-  tibus  et  rogando  non  sine  magnis  contu- 
cos  obligavit.  vendidit  et  expendit,  are  the    meliis  et  repulsa  discurrendo. 

words  of  Matth.of  Janow.  3  Annales  Raynaldi,  torn.  VII,  1374,  ad 

2  Matth.of  Janow  remarks,   after  the    ann.  Nr.  10  and  11,  p.  251. 


DEATH    OF   MILITZ. CONRAD    OF    WALDHAUSEN.  183 

errors,  which  are  not  only  bad  and  rash,  but  also  heretical  and  schis- 
matic, extremely  mischievous  and  dangerous  to  the  faithful,  especially 
the  simple.  When  the  pope's  bull  arrived  at  Prague,  the  arch- 
bishop was  confounded.  He  caused  Militz  to  be  cited,  and  complained 
to  him  of  his  perplexity.  Militz,  however,  remained  perfectly  tranquil 
in  the  consciousness  of  his  innocence,  and  bid  the  archbishop  take 
courage,  as  his  conscience  was  clear.  He  placed  his  trust  in  God  and 
the  power  of  the  truth ;  these  would  triumph  over  every  assault.  He 
went  to  Avignon  in  the  year  1374 ;  but  died  there  while  his  cause  was 
still  pending.1 

In  connection  with  Militz  we  should  notice  Conrad  of  Waldluusen,2  a 
German  from  Austria,  who  was  distinguished  in  Bohemia  as  a  preacher 
full  of  zeal  for  reform.3  He  belonged  to  the  order  of  St.  Augustin,  and 
exerted  a  great  influence,  at  first  as  a  priest,  by  his  sermons,  in  Vien- 
na, from  the  year  1345  and  onward,  through  a  period  of  fifteen  years.4 
Within  this  period  fell  the  jubilee  already  mentioned  as  having  been 
proclaimed  by  Pope  Clement  VI.  While  an  opportunity  of  this  sort 
would  be  seized  upon  by  the  common  preachers  of  indulgence  to  do 
still  greater  mischief  to  the  souls  of  men,  Conrad  of  Waldhausen  would 
feel  himself  called  upon  the  more  to  wake  up  the  attention  of  the 
misguided  people  as  a  preacher  of  repentance.  Without  contending 
against  the  determinations  of  that  church  doctrine,  to  which  he  him- 
self was  devoted,  he  might  still  endeavor  to  counteract  the  perni- 
cious influence  of  the  ordinary  preachers  of  indulgences,  and  to  direct 

1  We  follow  here  the  report  of  Matth.  the  corrupt  clergy,  the  Cistercian  John  of 
of  Janow,  as  the  one  most  worthy  of  ere-  Stekna,  when  the  friends  of  Huss,  for  ex- 
dence,  who  says  of  Militz:  Avenione  ex-  ample,  said  in  his  justification,  that  he 
ulans  est  mortuus.  It  must  be  an  error,  was  persecuted  merely  on  account  of  his 
when  it  is  said,  in  the  biography  published  castigatory  discourses  against  the  corrupt 
by  Balbinus,  that  he  went  to  Rome.  This  clergy,  this  Andrew  of  Broda  replied,  by 
error  might  easily  arise  from  the  confound-  appealing  to  the  examples  of  those  three 
ing  together  of  the  curia  Romana  and  the  castigatory  preachers  before  him,  Militz, 
curia  Aveuionensis.  It  must  also  be  a  mis-  the  above  mentioned  Conrad,  and  John  of 
take  that,  as  the  report  in  Balbiu  has  it,  Stekna,  who,  however,  had  not  been  aecu- 
Mtlitz  returned  back  to  Prague  and  died  sed  of  heresy ;  and  he  says  in  this  con- 
there.  We  might  suggest  the  inquiry,  nection  :  Nam  et  ab  antiquis  temporibus 
whether,  in  the  biography  preserved  in  Milicius,  Conradus,  Sezekna  et  alii  caet. 
Balbin,  a  report  got  up  in  the  lifetime  of  The  simple  fact,  that  the  two  last  names 
Militz,  and  another  composed  after  his  were  not  separated  from  each  other  by  a 
death,  may  not  be  blended  together.  comma,  led  to  the  entire  mistake. 

2  This  Conrad  of  Waldhausen  first  be-  3  Matth.  of  Janow  characterizes  both 
came  better  known  through  the  research-  Militz  and  Conrad  of  Waldhausen  as  men 
es  of  Palaeky,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  full  of  the  spirit  of  Elijah.  He  says  :  Con- 
for  the  first  oral  communications  respect-  radus  Walthauscr,  homo  utique  religiosus 
ing  him.  (see  his  History  of  Bohemia,  3,  et  devotus,  qui  dictis  suis  et  scriptis  prin- 
1.  161  ff,  and  note  225)  and  through  those  cipales  metropoles  sanctae  ecclesiae  reple- 
ot'  P.  Jordan  in  his  paper,  "  Die  Vorlaiifer  verunt  utpote  Romam  et  Avenionem,  ubi 
(1  ■*  HiKsitenthums  in  Bohmen,"  which  Papa,  et  Bohemiam  atque  Pragam,  ulii 
learned  man  may  also  have  availed  him-  ecclesiae  imperatoris.  Unus  ipsorum  Con- 
Belf  of  Palacky's  researches.  An  crrone-  radus  in  Praga  occubuit,  ubi  Caesar,  caet. 
ouslv  printed  passage  in  Cochlacus  (his-  4  We  take  this  from  a  remark  made  by 
toriae  rlussitarnm  libri  XII.,  p.  42,)  taken  the  man  himself  in  his  piece  in  defence 
from  the  writing  ofa  contemporary  of  Hus8,  of  himself,  composed  in  1364,  and  still  un- 
the  Bohemian  theologian  Andrew  of  Bro-  published:  Jam  per  quindecim  annos  la 
da.  win)  wrote  against  Huss,  caused  this  boriosae  coram ducibos  Austriae  coramque 
forerunner  of  Huss  to  be  forgotten  and  to  populo  multo  palain  concione  caet. 

be  confounded  with   another  castigalor  of 


184  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

men's  attention  to  the  internal  moral  conditions  which  were  required 
in  order  to  derive  any  true  benefit  from  indulgences.  It  seems,  that 
he  was  led  by  this  occasion  of  the  jubilee  to  make  the  pilgrimage  him- 
self to  Rome,  and,  that  on  this  journey  and  after  his  return  from  it,  he 
labored  as  a  preacher  of  repentance  in  Austria  and  Bohemia  till  he 
arrived  at  Prague.  We  take  this  from  his  own  writings.  For  when, 
at  some  later  period,  his  violent  enemies  of  the  two  orders  of  mendicant 
friars  accused  him  of  disturbing  everywhere  by  his  sermons  the  public 
peace,  —  a  charge  often  brought  against  preachers  who  by  their  search- 
ing discourses  produced  some  movement  which  was  opposed  to  the 
selfish  interests  of  many,  —  he  in  defending  himself  compares  this 
accusation  with  the  one  brought  against  Christ,  namely,  that  he  stirred 
up  the  people  ;  that  he  taught  from  city  to  city,  in  the  whole  land  of 
Judea,  beginning  from  Galilee  even  unto  Jerusalem ;  where  he  re- 
marks, —  and  so  they  say  of  me  :  He  has  set  the  people  in  commotion, 
beginning  —  and,  herein,  at  least,  they  speak  the  truth  —  beginning  from 
Rome,  the  seat  of  the  apostolical  chair,  in  the  year  of  the  jubilee,  and 
teaching  through  all  Austria  even  to  this  city  of  Prague,  from  this 
time,  by  God's  wonderful  dealing,  become  an  imperial  city.1  This 
happened,  therefore,  in  the  year  1350.  By  these  labors  he  must  have 
become  known  to  the  king  of  Bohemia,  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.,  who 
sought  in  every  way  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  Bohemian  people. 
The  emperor  endeavored  to  secure  him  for  this  country,  and,  in  the 
year  1360,  he  was  called,  as  parish  priest,  to  the  city  of  Leitmeritz. 
Partly  his  earnest  wish  to  labor  on  a  wider  scale  for  the  salvation  of 
souls  and  against  the  corruption  of  these  times,  an  opportunity  for  which 
was  offered  to  him  in  Prague,  and  partly  a  controversy  in  which  he 
became  involved  with  a  convent  of  Dominicans  and  Franciscans,  who 
sought  to  circumscribe  the  activity  of  the  parish  priest  and  to  take 
everything  into  their  own  hands,  induced  him  to  make  his  appearance 
as  a  preacher  in  Prague.2  He  preached,  first,  for  a  year,  in  the  church 
of  St.  Galli,  in  Prague.3  But  the  crowd  of  people  who  were  impressed 
by  his  preaching,  constantly  increased ;  and,  as  he  thought  it  wrong  to 
withhold  God's  word  from  any  one  who  was  drawn  to  hear  it,  but  felt 
bound  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  as  many  as  he  could,  he  preached, 
the  church  being  no  longer  large  enough  for  his  audience,  in  the  open 
market-place  to  the  vast  crowds  who  there  assembled  around  him. 
He  also,  like  Militz,  supposed  that  he  saw  in  the  an ti- christian  spirit 

1  Commovit  populum  docens  per  uni-  stulissent  sibi  populum  suum,  et  sibi  at- 
versam  Austriam,  incipiens,  ut  verum  sal-  traxissent.  And  he  grants  that  this  was 
tem  in  hoc  dicant,  a  Romana  civitate  se-  one  reason,  but  not  the  only  one,  nor  the 
dis  apostolieae,  anno  Jubilaeo  docens  per  chief  one.  Respondeo,  quod  ista  omnia 
universam  Austriam  usque  hanc  scil.  in  sunt  vera,  praeter  hoc,  quod  dixerunt,  esse 
Pragam,  ex  tunc  mirabiliterdei  dispensatu  hoc  praecipuam  causam  sed  tantum  fuit 
civitatem  imperialem.  concausa. 

2  Conrad's  opponents  allege,  as  the  rea-  3  His  own  words  are:  Ego  Conradus 
son  why  he  left  his  parish,  what  he  him-  in  Waldhausen  professus  ordinem  S.  Au- 
self  stated:  (Scripserunt,  me  dixisse  in  gustini  canonicorum  regularium  et  Lotho- 
quodam  sermone,  causam,  quare  in  paro-  mir  Pragensis  dioeceseos  Plebanus  verbum 
chia  mea  non  residerem,  esse,)  quia  ipsam  dei  in  civitate  Pragensi  quasi  per  annum 
duo  monasteria  fratrum  mendicantium  at-  continuum  praedicassem  in  ecclesia  S. 
tenuassent  ibidem,  et  esset  ratio,  quia  ab-  Galli. 


CONRAD    OF   WALDHAUSEN.  18-r) 

of  his  times,  the  signs  of  the  last  preparatory  epoch  which  was  to 
precede  the  second  advent  of  Christ ;  and  his  sermons  were  frequently 
taken  up  in  directing  the  attention  of  his  hearers  to  these  signs,  in 
warning  them  against  the  impending  dangers,  exhorting  them  to  watch- 
fulness over  themselves  and  against  the  insidious  spread  of  antichrist- 
ian  corruption.  "  Not  willing  —  says  he  —  that  the  blood  of  souls 
should  be  required  at  my  hands,  I  traced,  as  I  was  able,  in  the  Holy 
Scripture,  the  future  dangers  impending  over  the  souls  of  men."  i 
Accordingly  he  attacked,  in  his  sermons,  the  prevailing  vices  in  all 
ranks  of  society,  the  pride  of  dress  in  the  women ;  usury  ;  lightness, 
and  vanity  in  the  youth.  Many,  under  the  influence  of  his  preaching,- 
experienced  an  entire  change  of  heart.  '  He  produced  such  an  effect 
on  many  usurers  that  they  restored  back  their  wrongful  gains  ;  this  he- 
required  them  to  do,  as  evidence  of  their  conversion.  A  certain  young 
man,  by  the  name  of  Slanko,  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  his  singular  power  in  reaching  the  souls  of 
men.  This  person  took  the  lead  among  the  giddy,  light-minded  youth, 
given  up  to  every  vanity.  Without  any  purpose  of  devotion  he  visited 
the  churches,  where  he  amused  himself  with  looking  round  upon  the 
young  ladies,  nodding  to  them,  and  throwing  pebbles  at  them,  even 
during  the  fasts ;  and  so  he  went  on  during  all  the  first  part  of  the 
time  that  Conrad  was  preaching  at  Prague.  But,  struck  by  some 
remark  of  the  preacher,  he  changed  his  whole  course  of  life,  became 
one  of  his  most  attentive  and  devout  hearers,  to  be  found  always  by 
his  side ;  and  Conrad  often  alluded  to  the  change  that  had  taken  place 
in  him,  as  evidence  of  the  power  of  transforming  grace.2 

Even  the  Jews  often  went  to  hear  him  preach.  Some  of  his  friends 
would  have  prevented  this  ;  but  Conrad,  who  was  zealous  for  the  salva- 
tion of  all  human  souls,  and  could  not  approve  of  this  exclusion  of  the 
Jews,  reminded  his  friends  that,  according  to  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  then- 
conversion  in  great  numbers  was  some  time  or  other  to  be  expected. 
They  ought  never  to  doubt  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  and  of  divine 
grace.  He  would  pleasantly  remark  that  "  if  it  was  in  the  power  of 
divine  grace  to  change  the  worldly  heart  of  a  Slanko,  why  might  it  not 
also  overcome  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews."3  He  thus  speaks  of  the 
matter  himself  :  "  It  so  happened  that  many  Jews,  of  both  sexes,  at- 
tended my  preaching,  sitting  and  standing  promiscuously  in  the  crowd 
among  the  Christians  ;  and  it  was  told  me  that  a  number  of  Christians 
supposed  that  the  Jews  must  be  avoided,  and  wished  to  prevent  them 
from  attending  my  preaching  for  the  future.     I  then  said  :   I   have 

1  Nolens  sanguinem  animarum  dc  man-  inquietus  ;  postea  fuit  converse  cum  mul- 

ibus   meis  requiri,  equidem  in  scriptoria  tis  aliis  complicibus  suis  ejusdem  vanita- 

sanctia  vidi  tidelius,  ut  potui,  pericula  an-  tis,  quod  valde  devote  mucuin  sedebat  in 

imarum  fmura.  quadragesima  ad  sermonem. 

'•'  Conrad  says  of  him  :  Ille  fuerat  valde  3  The  words  of  Conrad  :  De  hoc  juvcne 

iudisripliuatus   ante  adventum  meum   in  jocose  dixi,  argueus  per  locum  a  minori, 

Pragam.    Ita  quando  civissae,  quiboa  ho-  sciens  quod  nonaegre  ferret,  et  quia  bonus 

nisabat,  vcl  quaeeunque  aliae  sedebant  in  amicus  mcus   esset,  et   de   hoc  gaudebai  : 

quadragesima  in    praedicatione,    jaciebat  Ex  quo    conversus  est    ille,  posset  etiam 

super  earum  capillos.     Etiam  in  principio  Judaeus  convcrti. 
adventus  mei  in  Pragam  fuit  aliquamdiu 

16* 


186  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

heard  that  some  of  you  have  been  keeping  away  the  Jews,  who  were 
attentive  hearers,  from  my  sermons.  I  beg  you  not  to  do  this  again  ; 
for  the  last  day  is  approaching,  before  which,  according  to  Isaiah,  all 
the  Jews  are  to  be  converted.  Peradventure  some  one  of  these  may, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  be  converted."  And  to  show  that  this  was  by  no 
means  impossible,  he  cites  the  example  of  Slanko. 

In  pointing  beyond  a  mere  outside  Christianity  to  its  true  essence, 
in  exposing  the  various  ways  in  which  men  deceived  themselves  with 
regard  to  the  demands  of  Christianity,  the  various  means  resorted  to 
for  the  purpose  of  hushing  the  alarms  of  conscience,  and  bolstering  up 
a  life  of  immorality,  he  was  led  to  contend  earnestly  against  the  influ- 
ence of  the  mendicant  friars,  who  by  their  mock-sanctity  imposed  on 
the  multitude,  while  they  encouraged  and  promoted  the  false  reliance 
in  various  outward  works  ;  and  in  warning  men  against  the  false 
prophets  who  were  to  appear  in  the  last  times,  he  felt  compelled  to 
draw  his  illustrations  chiefly  from  the  mendicants.  He  spoke  with  great 
emphasis  against  every  species  of  simony,  but  especially  against  that 
form  of  it  which  was  stealthily  practised  under  the  garb  of  absolute 
poverty  by  the  begging-monks.  Simony  he  pronounced  to  be  heresy. 
There  was,  as  he  thought,  a  still  worse  heresy  than  that  of  the  Pneu- 
matomachi,  who  declared  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be  a  mere  creature  ; 
namely  when,  by  simony,  the  Holy  Ghost  was  employed  as  a  means 
of  getting  mone}'.  The  former  only  made  the  Holy  Ghost  a  ministrant 
creature  to  God  the  Father  ;  but  they  who  practised  simony  made  the 
Holy  Ghost  their  own  spirit,  their  own  minister.1  He  regarded  it  as 
no  better  than  simony,  to  ask  pay  for  taking  in  and  nursing  the  sick, 
and  to  decline  receiving  young  women  or  young  men  into  the  convents 
except  for  a  certain  stipulated  sum.  He  had  applied  at  first  to  Ernest, 
archbishop  of  Prague,  and  requested  him  to  put  a  stop  to  this  simony. 
But  this  prelate  assured  him  that  it  was  out  of  his  power ;  most  of  the 
convents  being  exempted  from  his  jurisdiction,  and  under  the  control 
of  priors  of  the  mendicant  order.2  No  other  course  remained  for  him, 
therefore,  but  to  lift  up  his  voice  against  the  evil,  in  his  sermons  and 
in  his  intercourse  with  men.  He  inveighed  against  the  mock-sanctity 
of  the  monks,  who  endeavored  to  deceive  the  simple  to  the  great  injury 
of  their  souls  ;  and  through  weak-minded,  bigoted  females  in  particu- 
lar, introduced  their  corrupting  influence  into  families,  procured  lega- 
cies to  be  made  to  their  order,  and  its  superior  holiness  to  be  com- 
mended, so  as  to  induce  parents  to  give  up  to  them  their  boys. 
"These  persons  —  he  says — often  deceive  the  simple,  by  pretending 
to  a  holy  poverty,  putting  on  the  garb  of  an  hypocritical  sanctity  ;  and 
whilst,  for  outside  show,  they  carry  that  devotion  on  their  lips,  which  is 
not,  I  fear,  in  their  hearts,  they  rob  those  who  confess  to  them  of  what 

1  Illi  enim  Macedoniani  creaturam  et  archiepiscopo  Pragensi  id  ipsum  significa- 
servum  dei  patris  et  filii  spiritum  sane-  re,  quod  talibus,  ne  fierent,  remedium  ad- 
tum  delirando  fatebantur.  Isti  vero  eun-  hiberet  opportunum.  Qui  respondit,  quod 
dem  spiritum  sanctum  efficiunt  suum  monasteria  monialium  fere  omnia  essent 
servum,  quia  divendunt  ipsum  quasi  ad-  ab  ejus  cura  in  civitate  Pragensi  exempta, 
versarii.  sed   sub  alis  fratrum  ordinum  mendican- 

2  This  Conrad  relates  himself :  Domino  tium,  ut  communiter  essent. 


CONRAD    OF   WALDHATTSEN.  187 

belongs  rightfully,  when  they  have  done  with  it,  to  their  heirs.  But 
let  these  simple  persons  hear  what  our  Lord  threatens  to  such,  in  his 
parables  (Matt.  23:  23)."  l  No  man,  he  held,  could  be  forced  to  be 
virtuous.  All  goodness  must  proceed  from  free  choice  and  conviction. 
Hence  he  objected  to  the  practice,  customary  with  parents,  of  carrying 
their  children  to  the  convents,  where  they  were  to  be  put  under  a  perpet- 
ual vow  to  the  monastic  life,  though  it  was  quite  uncertain  whether  they 
would  be  fitted  for  it  or  willing  to  undertake  it  on  arriving  at  mature 
years.  "  They  only  —  he  said  —  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
are  the  sons  of  God.  That  which  the  Spirit  only  can  effect,  is  not  to 
be  forcibly  imposed  upon  one  from  without."  We  recognize,  in  all 
this,  the  Augustinian  ;  one  on  whom  the  doctrines  of  Augustin  had 
exerted  a  great  and  decided  influence.  He  himself  remarks,  in  clear- 
ing himself  from  the  reproaches  which  were  thrown  on  him  for  using 
such  expressions  :  "  Because  I  was  informed  that  the  people  of  Prague 
had  been  persuaded  by  those  monks  to  vow  the  consecration  to  their 
orders  of  boys'still  in  the  mother's  womb,  and  to  give  them  the  names 
of  the  saints  of  those  orders,  I  spoke  publicly  against  such  a  practice, 
except  on  the  express  condition  that  their  children  should  be  held  to 
such  vows  only  in  case  they  met  with  their  own  concurrence  when 
they  came  of  age. 2  For  otherwise  it  would  inevitably  be  attended 
with  danger  to  the  souls  of  both  children  and  parents."  Therefore 
he  held  parents  responsible  for  the  injury  which  might  accrue  to  their 
children,  if  such  a  mode  of  life  was  forced  upon  them  contrary  to  their 
own  wishes.  He  had  nothing  to  say  against  the  monastic  life,  in  itself 
considered.  But  he  made  a  distinction  between  this  life  and  the 
strange  offshoots  from  it,  against  which  he  felt  it  the  more  incumbent 
on  him  to  warn  men,  in  proportion  to  the  high  regard  which  he  enter- 
tained for  the  institution.  Referring  to  the  remarks  of  Augustin,  he 
declared,  that  while  in  monasticism,  if  it  corresponded  to  its  idea,  was 
to  be  found  the  most  perfect  mode  of  Christian  life ;  so  in  it,  when  de- 
generated, was  also  to  be  found  the  greatest  wickedness.  Refusing  to 
retract  what  he  had  said  on  this  point,  but  rather  confirming  it,  he 
wrote  :  "  I  say  and  write  what  I  never  wrote,  or  said  from  the  pulpit, 
before,  moved  to  do  this  now  by  such  an  unwarranted  contradiction, 
that  he  who  has  a  son  or  friend  whom  he  loves,  and  whose  welfare  he 
holds  dear,  should  no  more  allow  him  to  enter  into  one  of  these  orders, 
—  in  which  manifestly,  and  as  it  were  by  authority,  owing  to  the  cor- 
rupt influence  of  a  bad  custom,  it  has  become  necessary  to  live  con- 
trary to  the  rule  of  the  orders  and  to  the  profession  —  than  he  who 
wants  to  cross  the  Danube,  should  voluntarily  embark  in  a  leaky  craft, 

1  Iramo  tales  creberrime  praetextu  suae  diebam  per  praedictos  fratres,  ut  paeri 
sanctae  paupertatis  et  babitu  simulatae  adhuc  in  ventris  matrum  existentes  suis 
sanctitatis  Bimplices  decipientes  et  eorum  ordinibus  voverent,  proenrari  et  nomina 
devotionibas,  ore,  sed  at  timeo,  non  cor-  sanctorum  vel  sanctarum  sui  ordinis  no- 
de ostensis,  oonfitentes,  privant  bonis  suis,  minari,  quae  ne  fierent  ur  potui  publice 
quibus  post  mortem  deberent  vivere  hae-  probibui,  nisi  si  hoe  pacto  sui  primum 
redes  eorum.  Sed  audiant,  quid  dominus  voluissent  hoc  votum,  cum  ad  aunos  diu- 
talibus  in  figura  similitudinis  comminetur.  cretionis    pervenerit,    sno    libera  arbitrio 

2  Quia  homines  civitatis  Pragensis  au-  ratificarc. 


188  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

thereby  exposing  his  life  to  danger." '  And  after  quoting  certain  re- 
marks of  St.  Bernard,  referring  to  the  degeneracy  of  the  monks,  he 
adds :  "  But  I  say,  0  St.  Bernard,  what  would  thy  language  be  now, 
didst  thou  behold  the  mendicant  friars  sitting  in  those  splendid  palaces, 
which  they  own  in  spite  of  the  apostolical  prohibition  !  "  It  were  bet- 
ter, he  thinks,  only  for  the  sake  of  escaping  corruption  and  securing 
salvation,  to  remain  in  the  world  ;  for,  as  well  in  the  monastic  life  as 
in  the  world,  Pure  worship  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is 
this  :  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep 
one's  self  unspotted  from  the  world.  To  the  monks,  who  trusted  in  the 
holiness  of  their  order,  he  applied  what  John  the  Baptist  had  said  in 
rebuking  the  theocratical  pride  of  the  Jews, — that  God  was  able,  out  of 
these  stones,  to  raise  up  children  to  Abraham.  "  No  monk  —  says  he  —  is 
entitled  to  hope  that  he  shall  be  saved  because  the  founder  of  his  order 
was  a  holy  man  ;  it  would  be  precisely  the  same  as  if  I  should  hope 
in  St.  Augustin,  and  expect  to  be  made  blessed  by  his  holiness  without 
any  good  works  of  my  own."  "  I  believe  —  says  he  —  that  if  St.  Fran- 
cis himself  should  find  fault  with  them  for  their  wickedness,  he  must 
prove,  according  to  their  own  professions,  to  be  a  bad  man,  and  they 
would  never  acknowledge  him  as  the  founder  of  their  order  ;  so  very 
far,  alas  !  have  they  departed  from  the  purity  of  their  foundation,  and 
from  their  original  poverty.  He  distinguishes,  indeed,  the  primitive 
mode  of  living  among  the  mendicants,  as  laid  down  by  their  rule,  from 
that  which  contradicted  it ;  yet  it  is  very  evident,  that  he  was  very  far 
from  regarding  the  institution  of  the  mendicant  orders,  in  itself  consid- 
ered, as  the  highest  degree  of  the  imitation  of  Christ.  On  the  contrary, 
he  disputes  the  position,  that  such  poverty  corresponded  to  the  original 
type  of  the  life  of  Christ.  He  affirms  that  Christ  never  begged.  In 
proof  of  this,  he  states  that  when  Christ  paid  the  tribute  for  himself  and 
for  Peter,  he  did  not  beg  it,  but  caused  it  to  be  found  in  the  mouth  of 
the  fish  ;  that  Christ  was  styled  not  the  carpenter's  son  merely,  but 
the  carpenter;  explaining  the  words,  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son? " 
as  if  the  people  had  said,  We  have  not  seen  him  studying,  but  at  work 
with  his  father  the  carpenter.  He  offered  to  give  sixty  groats  to  any 
one  who  could  cite  a  single  passage  from  the  New  Testament,  showing 
that  Christ  had  ever  begged.2  He  himself  repented,  as  it  would  seem, 
of  his  earlier  mode  of  lite,  which  his  order  had  imposed ;  for  he  says  : 
"0,  had  I  but  known  it  ten  years  ago,  I  would  then,  for  the  glory  of 
God,  have  devoted  myself  entirely  to  study ;  but  from  henceforth  I 
will  consecrate  my  whole  life  to  study,  to  the  cultivation  of  a  prayerful 

1  Dico  et  scribo,  quod  prius  nunquam  nullus  volens  Danubium   transire,  sponte 

scripsi  vel    dixi    in  ambone,  tali    contra-  intraret  navem  corruptam,  ubi  tamen  esset 

dictione  indebita  motus,  quod  quilibet  ha-  in  periculo  corpus. 

bens    puerum  vel  amicuni  diligens,  quem         2  Dixi,  quod  quicunque  ex  iis  fuerit  pri- 

velit  salvari,  videat,  ne    in  aliquem  ordi-  mus,  qui  ostenderit   mini  ex  scriptura  ca- 

nem  ipsos  intrare  procuret,  in  quo  mani-  nonica,  Christum  mendicasse,  cujus  ratio- 

feste  et  quasi  jam   ex  auctoritate  propter  nes    solvere   non  possim,  dabo  sibi  unam 

corruptelam  pravae  consuctudinis  sit  ne-  sexagenarian!  grossorum  pro  cappa  panni 

cesse   vivere  contra  regulam  ejusdem  or-  rudis. 
dinis    et    professionem,   attendens,   quod 


CONRAD    OF   WALDHAUSEN.  189 

spirit  and  to  preaching."  He  contests  the  notion,  that  it  was  a  pecu- 
liarly holy  and  meritorious  work  to  give  alms  to  the  monks,  instead  of 
providing  for  the  support  of  the  truly  necessitous  poor.  "  0,  —  he 
writes  —  what  will  the  Lord  say,  in  that  day  of  fearful  judgment,  to 
those  who,  when  they  were  not  needy  themselves,  snatched  away  their 
alms  from  the  truly  poor,  the  real  beggars.  Assuredly  will  it  be  in 
his  power  to  say  —  I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat :  ye  took 
away  from  me,  what  was  to  serve  as  my  food.  Much  rather  —  said 
he  —  should  we  give  to  the  poor  and  to  the  true  beggars,  than  to  a 
rich  and  strong  man,  who  begs  while  he  might  work.  And  I  believe  — 
he  proceeds  —  all  men  of  sound  understanding  would  agree  with  me  in 
this  :  though  not  an  individual  would  say  that  we  are  bound  to  give  to 
the  rich  man,  rather  than  to  the  poor  Lazarus  ;  that  we  should  give 
to  those  that  riot  at  feasts,  and  leave  to  die,  of  hunger,  the  poor  beg- 
gars who  seek  to  feed  themselves  with  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
table."  He  bore  his  testimony  against  the  fraudful  quackery  carried 
on  with  pretended  relics  of  saints.  "  The  people  —  said  he  —  often 
allow  themselves  to  be  imposed  upon  with  relics.  A  head  of  St.  Bar- 
bara, it  was  reported,  existed  somewhere  in  Prussia ;  and  yet  many 
held  that  they  had  such  a  head  in  Prague."  And  he  adds,  in  confir- 
mation :  "  So  true  is  it,  that  they  often  love  the  perishable  bodies  of 
saints  more  than  their  meritorious  works  for  the  sake  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  ;  when  the  truth  is  that  the  saints  do  not  make  holiness,  but 
holiness  made  the  saints  ;  therefore  holiness  should  not  be  loved  less 
than  the  saints."  l  He  applies  to  them  what  Christ  says  of  the  Phari- 
sees, who  garnished  the  sepulchres  of  the  murdered  prophets,  while  in 
heart  they  resembled  their  murderers.  The  reason  why  they  honored 
the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  Christ  tells  them,  was  that  they  found  it  a 
source  of  gain.  They  deceived  the  simple  by  this  show  of  religion.2 
While  Conrad  prevailed  on  the  usurers,  who  were  converted  under  his 
sermons,  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  their  repentance  by  returning  the 
gains  they  had  made  from  unlawful  interest,  to  those  whom  they  had 
robbed,  directly  contrary  to  this  was  the  practice  of  the  mendicants, 
who  tranquillized  the  consciences  of  usurers,  by  inspiring  in  them  a 
false  confidence  in  absolution,  because  they  ministered  to  their  avarice. 
He  could  lay  it  to  their  charge,  that  they  had  absolved  from  all  his 
sins,  and  buried  with  ceremonious  pomp,  a  usurer  who  had  never  re- 
stored back  his  unlawful  gains,  though  he  had  made  a  large  donation  to 
them.3  He  reproaches  them  with  the  folly  of  celebrating  mass  for  him 
whose  soul  might,  in  all  probability,  be  with  that  of  the  rich  man  in  hell.4 
He  says  of  the  mendicants  :  "  We  may  see  those  who  would  be  pillars 

1  Quod  sicut  verum  est,  quod  saepe  plus  3  Conrad's  words :  Ipsura,  postpo^ita 
diligunt  pereuntia  sanctorum  corpora,  omnium  conscientia,  in  ecclesia  sua  abso- 
quam  imitcntur  et  diligantur  propter  coe-  lutum  suo  decreto  ab  omnibus  peceatis  suis, 
leste  regnum  ipsorum  merita,  cum  tamen  gloriose  et  cum  magna  processione  fiat  nun 
sancti  non  fecerint  sanctitatem,  sed  sancti-  altisone  cantando  per  ]  ontem  apportatum 
tas  sanctos.     Undc   sanctitaa   non   minus  sepelissent. 

quam  sancti  esset  diligenda.  4  Non   attendentes,   quod     anima   illius 

2  Quia  sepolcra  prophetaram  pecuniam  cum  divite  epulone  fuisset  in  inferno  se- 
iis  solvebant,  simpliees  per  hujusmodi  spe-     pulta. 

ciem  religionis  decipiebant. 


190  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

of  the  church,  strolling  about  in  the  cities,  or  to  the  castles,  and 
through  the  country,  without  returning  to  their  convents  for  two  or 
more  months  ;  and  there  is  nothing  which  they  preach  more  zealously 
than  —  "  Give  us,  and  we  will  pray  for  you."  Thus  they  sought  only 
their  own,  and  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus  Christ's,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  endless  troubles  in  the  church.1  One  effect  of  his  own 
preaching,  he  tells  us,  was  that  the  mendicants  lost  all  their  hearers.'2 
He  says  that  their  preachers  had,  often,  not  more  than  four  bigoted 
women,  Beguins  as  they  were  called,  to  hear  their  German  sermons.3 
But  they  made  use  of  these  women,  who  were  so  devoted  to  them,  as 
tools  to  get  up  a  party  against  Conrad,  whom  they  hated.  "  Then  I 
saw — he  writes  —  that  they  whispered,  in  their  corners,  calumnious 
reports  about  my  sermons  and  my  doctrines,  that  they  muttered  against 
me,  and  through  their  Beguins  inflamed  the  minds  of  the  people  with 
hostility  to  my  doctrine  ;  and  that  they  declaimed  against  me  in  the 
public  market-place,"  etc.*  Applying  to  his  own  case  the  parable  of 
the  sheep  and  good  shepherd,  he  says  of  his  opponents :  "  Should  they 
come  into  my  fold,  I  do  not  believe  that  my  flock  would  be  led  far 
astray  by  them ;  but  I  would  give  them  a  taste  of  the  salt  of  God's 
word  ;  for  these  sheep  will  not  care  for  the  barren  and  perhaps  noxious 
pasturage  which  others  would  give  them,  but  as  I  hope,  will  follow  the 
voice  of  their  shepherd,  when  they  hear  it,  as  the  salt  which  cannot 
lose  its  savor."  s  The  mendicant  monks  reproached  him  with  having 
forsaken  his  parish,  and  made  his  appearance  ere  called  for,  as  a 
preacher  in  Prague.  But  he  met  them  by  appealing  to  the  divine  call 
which  had  moved  him  to  preach  in  Prague,  characterizing  these  monks 
themselves,  who  would  hinder  another  from  preaching,  as  dumb  dogs.6 
He  says  :  "  He  who  is  afraid  to  speak  the  truth,  is  not  a  true  preacher 
sent  of  God.  Unmoved,  therefore,  will  I  praise  the  Word,  0  Lord,  in 
thee,  and  not  be  afraid.  I  long  after  the  glory  of  our  Saviour." 
"  While  I  am  willing  to  answer  them  —  he  says  —  who  say  Christ  has 
not  sent  me,  I  am  greatly  at  a  loss  when  I  ask  what  the  proof  is  of 
their  own  mission.  For  if  we  look  at  the  heart  and  the  conduct  as  the 
proof  of  those  who  are  sent  of  God,  it  will  be  evident  that  by  them  the 
rules  of  Christ  are  not  at  all  observed.  For  Christ  said  to  his  preachers, 
when  he  sent  them  forth,  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.  But  no 
sooner  have  they  a  congregation,  than  they  set  up  a  money  table  to  make 

1  Eos,  qui  se  dicunt  columnas  ecclesiae,  4  Et  per  beginas  suas  homines  inducere 
pel-  villas,  civitates,  castra  diseurrentes  vi-  ad  oppositionem  doctrinae  meae  et  in  pub- 
disses,  sed   infra    duos  menses   vel  quod     lico  foro  declamare,  caet. 

amplius  ad  monasteria  non  redeuntes,  et  5  Non  credo,   quod    amplius  sinant   se 

nil  aliud   ita  ferventer  sieut  "  Date  nobis,  duci  per  ipsos  oviculas  meas,  sed  dabo  eis 

et   orabimus  pro    vobis  "  praedicantes,  et  de  sale  verbi  dei,  sicut  potero  ad  lingen- 

tantum  quae  sua  sunt,  et  non  Jesu  Chris-  dum,   quia  non    curabunt   infructuosa   et 

ti  quaerentes,  et  inrinita  scandala  in  ecele-  forte  noxia  pascua  aliorum,  sed  suum  pas- 

sia  ponentes.  torem  audicntes,  ut  spero,  vocem  ejus  se- 

2  Videntes   se  ab   omnibus  auditoritras  quentur  tanquam  sal  non  infatuandum. 
suis  derelictos.  6  Populum,  quos   turn  etiam  recedente 

3  Alibi  vel  in  suis  monasteriis  populum  me  non  multum  curassent,  cum  omnes 
nullum,  sed  quatuor  beginas  vel  quinque  facti  sint  quasi  canes  muti. 

in  sermonibus  suis  teutonicis,  ut  hodierna 
declamat  evidentia. 


CONRAD    OF   WALDHAUSEN.  191 

money  out  of  their  hearers."  When  Conrad  had  thus  turned  against 
him  the  hatred  of  the  mendicants,  no  pains  were  spared  on  their  part  to 
convict  him  of  heresy,  and  expose  him  to  persecution.  They  forgot  the 
mutual  jealousies  and  animosities  which  generally  divided  Dominicans 
and  Franciscans,  and  entered  into  a  league  against  their  common  enemy. 
He  compared  one  of  these  coalitions,  with  the  alliance  of  Herod  and  Pi- 
late against  Christ.'  As  Conrad  had  won  the  warm  esteem  and  affection 
of  multitudes,  his  enemies  by  their  persecutions  of  him  drew  the  hatred 
of  the  people  upon  themselves,  which  they  signified  by  frequently  assault- 
ing their  agents,  though  never  put  up  to  this  by  Conrad.  When  they 
accused  him  of  stirring  up  the  people  against  them,  he  could  reply  to 
them  with  truth,  that  they  had  brought  this  shame  upon  themselves  by 
their  crafty  plots  against  him,  and  would  do  so  again,  as  often  as  they 
tried  the  same  experiment. 

In  the  year  1364,  when  the  general  of  the  Dominican  order,  who 
was  at  the  same  time  papal  legate,  visited  Prague,  the  two  orders  of 
the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans,  of  whom  we  have  just  spoken,  drew 
up  in  concert  29  articles,  which  they  had  extracted  from  his  sermons, 
and  placed  them  in  the  hands  of  the  archbishop  of  Prague,  that  he  might 
be  brought  up  for  examination  on  these  charges.  The  archbishop  upon 
this  convoked  an  assembly  which  was  numerously  attended  ;  but,  on 
the  day  appointed  for  the  trial,  no  one  dared  to  appear  against  Conrad 
as  a  public  accuser.  He  afterwards  composed  a  paper  in  defence  of 
himself,  of  which  we  have  freely  made  use  in  the  preceding  narrative. 
He  showed,  first,  that  his  opponents  had  either  exaggerated  or  miscon- 
strued his  language ;  then  he  repeated,  for  substance,  what  he  had 
actually  said,  and  what  had  induced  his  opponents  to  accuse  him  of 
heresy.  When  they  complained  that  he  disturbed  everywhere  the 
public  peace,  his  reply  was  :  "  I  say,  that  in  my  sermons  I  never 
aimed  at  disturbing  the  public  peace,  and  never  have  disturbed  it ;  I 
mean  the  peace  of  the  good."  He  adverts  to  the  example  of  Christ, 
who,  in  his  intercourse  with  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  undoubtedly 
disturbed  the  peace  ;  even  as  he  said,  I  am  not  come  to  bring  peace 
on  the  earth,  but  a  sword.  "  When  I  am  complained  of,  then,  for  dis- 
turbing such  peace  as  this,  I  take  it  cheerfully,  for  our  Lord  says : 
"  So  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you,"  etc. 
He  refers  to  the  zeal  of  Elisha  against  the  golden  calves  set  up  by 
Jeroboam,  and  remarks  :  "  These  golden  calves,  many  in  our  time 
would  be  strongly  opposed  to  have  thus  thrown  away.  They  would 
prefer  to  have  them  used  to  decorate  the  bodies  of  the  saints,  and  thus 
add  to  their  gains.3  0,  how  many  are  there,  who  would  suffer  a  great 
deal  for  their  order,  but  who  could  not  be  induced  to  suffer  even  a 
little  in  the  way  of  preaching  the  pure  truth."  Still  later  in  the 
season  of  the  same  year,  the  Archduke  Rudolph  of  Austria,  being  on 

1  His  words    are  :    Duo   magni  hostes  3  His  words  :  Quos  nostri  temporis  qui- 
sibi  mutuo  tiuruiit  conciliati.  dam  nequaquam   sic  abjicerent,  imo  iDde 

2  Ipsi  silii  [psis  cansa  horum  opprobrio-  sanctorum  corpora,  ut  inde  consequeren- 
rum   praeteritorum   et  interea  secutorum  tur  majora  lucra,  vestirent. 

et  etiam  t'uturorum  per  suam  indiviosam 
et  malitio.sam  mei  vexationem. 


192  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

a  visit  to  Prague,  wished  to  get  Conrad  back  again  to  Vienna ;  but 
the  latter  could  not  be  induced  to  go,  being  fully  persuaded  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  remain  still  in  the  blessed  circle  of  his  labors  in  Prague, 
whatever  persecution  he  might  have  to  encounter.  He  plead  the  obli- 
gations under  which  he  had  been  laid  by  the  emperor  as  his  excuse  for 
not  accepting  the  invitation.1  Thus  Conrad  continued  to  'labor  in 
Prague,  finally  as  parish  priest  of  the  Teyn  church,  till  his  death, 
which  happened  in  1869. 

If  the  two  persons  of  whom  we  have  just  spoken  were  distinguished 
for  their  activity  as  practical  men,  and  prepared  the  way  by  this  means 
for  the  reformatory  tendencies  in  the  Bohemian  church,  the  same  thing 
cannot  indeed  be  said  of  Matthias  of  Janow  ;  but  his  inferiority  as  a 
practical  man  was  more  than  compensated  by  the  wide  influence  he  ex- 
erted through  his  writings  and  by  his  scientific  exposition  of  principles. 
In  his  works  we  may  find  not  only  the  reformatory  ideas  which  passed 
over  from  him  to  Huss,  but  also  the  incipient  germs  of  those  christian 
principles  which  at  a  later  period  were  unfolded,  in  Germany,  by 
Luther,  although  the  latter  never  came  directly  under  the  influence  of 
Matthias  of  Janow.  Of  Huss  it  may  be  said  with  more  truth,  that  he 
fell  behind  Matthias  of  Janow,  than  that  he  passed  beyond  him.  Mat- 
thias of  Janow,  son  of  Wenzel  of  Janow,  a  Bohemian  knight,  had  re- 
sided six  years  at  the  university  of  Paris,  pursuing  philosophical  and 
theological  studies  ;  hence  he  was  called  the  Parisian  master  (magis- 
ter  Parisiensis).  But  the  man  who  contributed  most  to  the  particular 
shaping  of  his  later  religious  and  theological  development  was  Militz,  a 
man  the  general  impression  of  whose  life  filled  him  with  such  profound 
and  enthusiastic  admiration.  It  is  plain  from  his  writings,  that  he 
had  travelled  much  in  Germany  and  in  Italy  ;  and  that  he  had  visited 
Rome.  He  shows  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  relations  and  the 
customs  of  different  countries.  Thus,  in  speaking  of  his  residence  in 
Lucca,  under  Pope  Urban  VI.,  he  mentions  a  law  which  he  there 
heard  promulgated,  directing  that  unmarried  females  should  neither 
wear  ornaments  of  gold  or  silver,  nor  any  dress  offending  against  the 
strictest  rules  of  moral  propriety .2  He  seems  in  the  earlier  part  of  his 
life,  to  have  been  given  to  the  prevailing  notions  and  tendencies  of  his 
time  ;  until,  perhaps  through  the  influence  of  Militz,  he  became  pene- 
trated with  that  holy  fire,  as  he  expresses  it,  which  left  him  no  rest.3 
In  still  another  place,  he  speaks  of  this  revolution  in  his  religious  expe- 
rience, stating  how,  in  the  light  of  God's  word,  the  corruption  of  the 
church  of  his  time,  by  which  he  himself  was  affected,  first  became 
clearly  apparent  to  him,  and  how,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  had  been 
rescued  from  it.  "  Once  —  says  he  —  my  mind  was  encompassed  by 
a  thick  wall ;  I  thought  of  nothing  but  what  delighted  the  eye  and  the 

1  His  words :  Me  hoc  facere  non  posse,  conis  proclamari,  quod  mulieres  innuptae 

qui  per  dominum  imperatorem  essem  be-  non  deferant  aurum  et  argentum,  nee  non 

neneiatus.  alias  quascunque  vestes  impudicas  et  pro- 

a  Sed  et  in  Lucca  solemni  in  Lombar-  fanas.     In  his  book  hereafter  to  be  cited, 

dia  civitate  tempore  papae  Urbani  VI.  au-  3  We   shall  presently  cite   these  words 

divi  publice  per  vicos  et  plateas  voce  prae-  more  at  length. 


LIFE   OF   MATTHIAS    OF  JANOW.  193 

ear,  till  it  pleased  the  Lord  Jesus  to  draw  me  as  a  brand  from  the 
burning.  And  while  I,  worst  slave  to  my  passions,  was  resisting  him 
in  every  way,  he  delivered  me  from  the  flames  of  Sodom,  and  brought 
me  into  the  place  of  sorrow,  of  great  adversities  and  of  much  con- 
tempt. Then  first  I  became  poor  and  contrite ;  and  searched  with 
trembling  the  word  of  God.  I  began  to  admire  the  truth  in  the  holy 
Scriptures,  to  see  how,  in  all  things,  it  must  be  exactly  fulfilled  ;  then 
first  I  began  to  wonder  at  the  deep  wiles  of  Satan,  to  see  how  he  dark- 
ened the  minds  of  all,  even  those  who  seemed  to  think  themselves 
wisest."  After  describing  how  he  thus  came  to  understand  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  church,1  he  says  :  "  And  there  entered  me,  that  is,  into  my 
heart,  a  certain  unusual,  new,  and  powerful  fire,  but  a  very  blessed 
fire,  and  which  still  continues  to  burn  within  me,  and  is  kindled  the 
more  in  proportion  as  I  lift  my  soul  in  prayer  to  God  and  to  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  the  crucified  ;  and  it  never  abates  nor  leaves  me,  except 
when  I  forget  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  fail  to  observe  the  right  dis- 
cipline in  eating  and  drinking ;  then  I  am  enveloped  in  clouds,  and 
unfitted  for  all  good  works,  till,  with  my  whole  heart  and  with  deep 
sorrow  I  return  to  Christ,  the  true  physician,  the  severe  judge,  he  who 
punishes  all  sin,  even  to  idle  words  and  foolish  thoughts."2  And  he 
moreover  intimates  that,  before  this,  he  shared  in  an  opinion  which  be- 
longed to  the  common  church  spirit,  though  a  new  light  dawned  after- 
wards on  his  mind ;  he  thought,  namely,  before  he  had  experienced 
that  internal  change  in  his  views  and  feelings,  with  the  majority  of  the 
clergy,  that  the  laity  ought  to  be  kept  from  frequent  participation  of 
the  Lord's  supper.  He  himself  says  :  "  Concerning  the  jealousy  and 
pride  of  those  clergymen  who  are  displeased  with  the  frequent  partici- 
pation of  the  Lord's  supper  by  the  laity,  I  am  silent ;  since  I  was 
myself,  in  like  manner,  under  the  influence  of  such  feelings  in  former 
days  ;  and  I  am  conscious  that  I  was,  myself,  oftentimes  actuated 
by  such  jealousy  when  I,  in  like  manner,  dissuaded  lay  persons  from 
such  frequent  enjoyment  of  the  communion.  I  had  not,  as  yet,  expe- 
rienced the  singular  light  on  this  subject  which  came  to  me  from  above."  3 
These  words  certainly  do  not  refer  merely  to  a  change  in  his  views  on 

1  Et  piissimus  Jesus  elevavit  mentem  a  piece  in  the  above  cited  work  of  Jano  • , 
meam,  ut  eognoscerem  homines  absorptos  which  may  be  found,  under  the  title  De 
a  vanitate  ;  et  tunc  legens  intellexi  lucide  sacerdotum  et  monaehorum  carnalium 
abominationem  desolationis,  stantem  late,  abominatione,  printed  among  the  works 
nimis  alte  et  firmiter  in  loco  sancto  caet.  of  Huss,  and  under  his  name,  I,  fol.  376 
De  sacerdot.  et  monach.  carnalium  abom-  seq.  I  was  betrayed  into  a  mistake  when 
inatione,  in  Husse's  Works,  Norib.  1558,  I  made  use  of  this  extract  as  belonging  to 
I,  fol.  398,  p.  2,  cap.  22.  Huss,  in  my  account  of  the  life -of  that  re- 

2  Etingressus  est  in  me,  id  est  in  pectus  former,  in  my  "  Kleihe  Gelcgenheitschrif- 
meum,  quidam   ignis    etiam   corporaliter  ten."  Berlin,  1829,  S.  223. 

subtilis,  novus,  fortis  et  inusitatus,  sed  val-  3  Taceo  super  hoc,  de  invidia  et  super- 

de  dulcissimus  :  et  continuatus  usque  mo-  bia   talium,  quihus  vexantur,  cum    indig- 

do,  et  semper  tanto  magis    succenditur,  nantur  de  communione  frequente  a  plebe- 

qnanto  magis  elevor  in  oratione  ad  deum  jis,  quia  talibus   fui  obnoxius  similiter,  et 

et  dominum  Jesum  Christum  erueifixum  ;  me  ipsum  agitatum  pluries  invidia  recog- 

ct  nunquam    reeedit,  vel   remittitur,    nisi  novi,  cum  similiter  talem  frequentem  com- 

quando    obKviscor    Christi   Jesu.   quando  munionem  sacramenti  dissuadebam  plebe- 

relaxo  disciplinam  in  comedendo  vel  po-  jis ;  adhuc  non  eram  singulari  lumiue  su- 

tando.     Ibid.     This  extract  is  taken  from  per  hoc  de  excelso  visitatus. 
VOL.    V.                                                17 


194  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

a  particular  point,  but  to  one  of  a  much  deeper  and  more  radical 
character ;  for  it  is  evident  from  them,  that  at  an  earlier  period  of  his 
life,  he  was  affected  with  the  same  spiritual  pride,  the  same  contempt 
of  the  laity  which  others  had  ;  was  conscious  of  being  an  utter  stranger 
to  those  ideas,  that  dawned  later  upon  him,  with  regard  to  the  univer- 
sal priesthood  of  Christians.  In  the  year  1381,  he  became  a  preben- 
dary at  Prague  ;  and  the  experience  which  he  here  gained  of  the  world- 
liness  of  the  higher  clergy  in  the  meetings  of  the  cathedral  chapter,  is 
alluded  to  by  himself,  where  he  complains  of  the  noisy  squabbles  of 
the  procurators  and  advocates  ;  "  which — says  he —  any  one  will  have 
it  in  his  power  to  witness  who  is  ever  employed  in  their  consistories."  l 
It  was  his  particular  business  to  preside  over  the  confessional,  where 
doubtless  would  be  manifested  his  great  zeal  for  the  spiritual  good  of 
souls,  and  where  he  had  great  opportunity  to  inform  himself  more  mi- 
nutely of  the  good  or  bad  in  all  classes  of  society,  and  of  the  religious 
wants  of  the  people.  That  he  did  not  fail  to  make  the  most  of  it  is 
apparent  from  the  observations  which  he  has  recorded  in  a  work  of  his 
presently  to  be  mentioned.  He  died  before  the  end  of  the  century,  in 
the  year  1394. 

The  work  from  which  we  get  the  clearest  insight  into  the  spirit  and 
influence  of  Matthias  of  Janow,  is  a  piece  of  his  own  which  still  remains, 
in  great  part,2  buried  in  manuscripts,  entitled  De  regulis  veteris  et 
novi  Testamenti.  The  exegetical  matter  forms  the  smallest  part  of  the 
whole.  It  is  chiefly  taken  up  with  reflections  on  the  history  of  the 
times  and  hints  concerning  the  future,  based  on  the  rules  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  on  the  prophetical  elements  which  they  contain. 
Although  there  is  a  great  deal  in  the  details  which  is  arbitrary,  parti- 
cularly in  the  apocalyptic  calculations,  yet  grand  prophetic  glances  into 
the  future  are  also  to  be  found.  He  pourtrays  the  utter  corruption  of 
the  church  in  all  its  parts,  and  explains  the  causes  of  it.  His  full  in- 
tuition of  the  present  is  here  presented  to  view.  It  is  not  a  coherent 
exposition  :  it  seems  to  be  made  up  of  several  independent  treatises 
composed  at  different  times.  Hence  we  may  notice  repetitions  ;  cer- 
tain fundamental  ideas  are  ever  turning  up  again.  As  a  chronological 
characteristic  we  may  notice,  for  example,  that  in  one  place  seven 
years  are  supposed  to  be  expunged  after  the  beginning  of  the  great 
papal  schism  which  would  bring  it  down  to  the  year  1385  ;  but,  in 
other  places,  we  find  him  referring  to  the  synod  held  in  Prague,  in 
1389,  of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter.  Matthias  of  Janow  himself, 
speaking  of  the  motives  which  induced  him  to  write  this  work,  says : 
"  The  Lord  Jesus  instructed  me  how  to  write  all  this  which  relates  to 
the  present  condition  of  priests,  that  is,  the  carnal  ones,  and  which  throws 

1   Lites,  contentiones,  strepitus  —  ,  quod        2  All  except  the  fragment  above  cited 

videre  poterit,  qui  in  consistoriis  illorum  and  published  under  the  name  of   Huss. 

fuerit  aliquando  occupatus.     See  the  frag-  Some   interesting  extracts  from  the  work 

ment  from  the  work  of  Matth.  of  Janow  have  been  recently  published  by  P.Jordan, 

about  to   be   mentioned,   which   wrongly  in  his   paper,  "  Die  Vorlaiifer  des  Hussi- 

goes  under  the  name  of  Huss,  in  his  work  tenthums  in  Bohmen." 
De  regno,  populo,  vita  et  moribus  Anti- 
christi,  cap.  21,  fol.  374,  p.  2. 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE    REGULIS  V.  ET  N.  TESTAMENTI.  195 

light  on  the  character  of  these  times ;  but  what  the  end  is  in  which  all 
this  is  to  result,  he  only  knows  who  set  me  to  work.     And  he  sent  me 
his  spirit  who  shoots  the  fire  into  my  bones  and  into  my  heart,  leaving 
me  no  rest  till  I  expose  the  hidden  shame  of  the  mother  of  harlots  (the 
corrupt  church  as  symbolized  in  Revelation)."  1     He  has  many  things 
to  complain  of  in  the  clergy  ;   that  they  were  absorbed  in  worldly 
business,  governed  by  worldly  motives ;  that  they  neglected  spiritual 
things ;   that  the  least  of  all  their  concerns  was  the  study  of  the  Bible 
and  of  the  old  church-teachers.     He  speaks  of  them  as  "  Men  who 
knew  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus  the  crucified,  who  had  never  medi- 
tated day  and  night  on  the  law  of  the  Lord;  —  carnal-minded  priests. 
They  are  men  —  he  proceeds  —  who  are  not  wholly  devoted  to  the 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  who  have  not  been  instructed  in  them 
from  their  youth,  yet,  for  all  this,  they  boldly  stand  forth  as  teachers, 
because  perhaps  they  possess  a  certain  gift  of  elocution  ;  and  they  pro- 
vide themselves  with  collections  of  sermons,  postills  for  every  day  in 
the  year,  and  so,  without  any  further  search  into  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
they  hold  forth  those  current  homilies,  preaching  with  great  ostenta- 
tion.    They  are  people  who  know  nothing  about  the  Bible.     Such 
persons  do  not  preach  from  devotion,  and  from  joy  in  the  Divine  Word, 
nor  from  zeal  to  edify  the  people ;   but  because  this  is  the  business 
assigned  to  them,  or  because  they  are  fond  of  making  a  display  of  their 
skill  in  speaking,  or  because  they  are  hunting  after  popularity,  and 
find  gratification  in  being  favored  and  honored  by  the   people.     So 
they  have  recourse  to  their  collections  of  sermons,  or  put  together  fine 
words,  and  furnish  out  their  discourses  with  stories,  and  with  promises 
of  large  indulgences."     It  was  already  objected  to  the  preachers  of 
reform,  to  Janow,  and  men  of  a  kindred  spirit,  that  they  exposed  to 
the  people,  in  the  spoken  language  of  the  country,  the  wickedness  of 
the  clergy  and  monks,  thus  injuring  their  reputation.     In  defending 
himself  against  this  reproach,' Janow  says,  alluding  to  the  words  of 
Christ,  (Matt.  16  :  6.)  :    "  Here  we  find  plainly  refuted,  those  who  in 
their  sermons  say  the  vices  of  the  regular  clergy  and  monks  ought  not 
to  be  exposed  in  discourses  held  in  the  spoken  language  of  the  coun- 
try."    The  clergy  and  monks  were  not  a  little  exasperated  by  such 
admonitory  discourses  to  the  people.     This  preaching,  they  said,  made 
them  contemptible  and  odious  to  the  people  ;  as  if  they  themselves  did 
not  know  or  want  to  know  the  course  pursued  by  Jesus  the  crucified  ; 
for  he  purposely  exposed  before  the  masses  of  the  people  the  hypocrisy 
and  wickedness  of  the  religious  orders  of  the  teachers  and  priests, 
and  exhorted  his  disciples  to  beware  of  their  doctrines,  although  these 
priests  were  filled  with  rage  and  took  the  utmost  offence  at  this.     He 
offers  as  reasons  for  pursuing  this  course  with  the  people,  that  it  was 
necessary  in  order  that  the  devout  clergy  and  monks  might  not  suffer 

'   Dominus  Jesus  instituit  me  ad  scri-  et  misit  me  spiritus  ejus,  qui  mittit  ignem 

bendum  ea  omnia,  quae  coutingunt  statum  in  ossibus  meis  et  in  meo  pectore,  et  quie- 

praesentem  sacerdotum,  puta  carnalium,  turn  esse  non  sinit,  quin  revelcm  filiumin- 

et  quae  explicant  qualitatem   horum  tem-  iquitatis  et  perditionis,  et  quin  denuded 

porum  ;  ad   quem  autem  finem  hoc  perve-  ae  discooperiam  ahdita  decoiis  fbniicariae 

niat,  ipse  solus  novit,  qui  me  in  id  posuit;  mulieris. 


196  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

injury  from  being  confounded  with  those  others,  in  order  that  the 
piety  of  the  former  might  shine  forth  more  conspicuously  in  contrast 
with  the  wickedness  of  the  latter,  in  order  that  these  latter  might  by 
such  public  exposure  be  led  to  repentance,  in  order  that  others  might 
be  put  on  their  guard  against  the  infection  of  their  example.  Like 
distempered  sheep  they  should  be  separated  from  the  sound,  lest  other 
christians  should  fall  into  the  same  corruption.  In  remarking  upon 
the  words  of  Christ  relative  to  the  sending  forth  of  the  angels  before 
the  day  of  judgment,  (Matt.  13 :  41,)  which  he  refers  to  the  send- 
ing forth  of  messengers  or  preachers,  in  the  last  times,  for  the  purpose 
of  purifying  the  church  from  its  dross,  he  says :  It  is  to  subserve  also 
another  purpose,  to  keep  the  simple  people  from  following  after  raven- 
ing wolves,  to  make  them  certain  of  the  guides  whom  they  should 
adhere  to,  and  of  those  whose  counsels  they  should  avoid ;  and,  again, 
to  remove  from  the  sinful  laity  every  such  ground  of  excuse  for  their 
vices,  as  they  plead  when  they  say  to  those  who  correct  them,  do  not 
the  monks  and  the  clergy  even  the  same  ?  —  On  the  other  side  it  was 
maintained,  that  even  in  wicked  ecclesiastics  their  office  should  be 
respected  ;  no  man  could  be  permitted  to  set  up  himself  as  judge  over 
them,  contrary  to  the  rules  of  order ;  and,  in  proof  of  this,  the  appeal 
was  made  to  Matt.  22 :  2,  3.  To  this  he  replies :  Such  language 
of  reproof  is  pointed  expressly  against  hypocrites,  who  enter  not  by  the 
door  into  the  sheepfold.  All  such  are  thieves  and  robbers.  Hypo- 
crites will  not  punish  and  betray  one  another.  They  can  be  known  as 
such  only  by  the  spiritually  minded.  They  do  not  know  themselves. 
Christ,  in  the  passage  already  referred  to,  (Matt.  16 :  6,)  exhorts  to 
watchfulness.  Janow  describes  it  as  one  of  the  cunning  tricks  of  the 
arch  enemy  to  persuade  men  that  Antichrist  is  still  to  come,  when,  in 
truth,  he  is  now  present  and  so  has  been  for  a  long  time  ;  but  men  are 
less  on  their  guard  against  him,  when  they  look  for  him  as  yet  to 
come.  "Lest  —  says  he  —  Jhe  abomination  of  desolation,"  (Matt. 
24 :  15,)  should  be  plainly  manifest  to  men,  he  has  invented  the 
fiction  of  another  abomination  still  to  come,  that  the  church,  plunged 
still  deeper  in  error,  may  pay  homage  to  the  fearful  abomination  which 
is  present,  while  she  pictures  to  herself  another  which  is  still  in  the 
future.1  It  is  a  common,  everyday  fact,  that  Antichrists  go  forth  in 
endless  numbers,  and  still  they  are  looking  forward  for  some  other  and 
future  Antichrist."  As  to  the  person  of  Antichrist,  he  affirms,  that  it 
was  neither  to  be  a  Jew,  nor  a  Pagan;  neither  a  Saracen,  nor  a  world- 
ly tyrant  persecuting  Christendom.  All  these  had  been  already ; 
hence  they  could  not  so  easily  deceive.  Satan  must  invent  some  new 
method  of  attacking  Christianity.  He  then  defines  Antichrist  as  fol- 
lows :  "  He  is  and  will  be  a  man  who  opposes  christian  truth  and  the 
christian  life  in  the  way  of  deception ;  he  is  and  will  be  the  most  wicked 
christian,  falsely  styling  himself  by  that  name,  assuming  the  highest 
station  in  the  church,  and  possessing  the  highest  consideration,  arro- 

1  Ne  tamen  ipsa  abominatio  reveletur,  rorem,  quatenus  sic  horrendam  abomina- 
fingit  aliam  abominationem  affuturam,  ut  tionem  venerans  atque  colens,  nihilominus 
per  hoc  amplius  iinmittat  ecclesiam  in  er-    uuam  aliam  futuram  fabuletur. 


JANOW   DE   REGULIS   V.  ET   N.    TESTAMENTI.  197 

gating  dominion  over  all  ecclesiastics  and  laymen ;  one  who,  by  the 
working  of  Satan,  knows  how  to  make  subservient  to  his  own  ends  and 
to  his  own  will  the  corporations  of  the  rich  and  wise  in  the  entire 
church  ;  one  who  has  the  preponderance  in  honors  and  in  riches,  but 
who  especially  misappropriates  the  goods  of  Christ,  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, the  sacraments,  and  all  that  belongs  to  the  hopes  of  religion,  to 
his  own  aggrandizement  and  to  the  gratification  of  his  own  passions  ; 
deceitfully  perverting  spiritual  things  to  carnal  ends,  and  in  a  crafty 
and  subtle  manner  employing  what  was  designed  for  the  salvation  of  a 
christian  people,  as  means  to  lead  them  astray  from  the  truth  and 
power  of  Christ."  *Et  is  easy  to  see  how  Matthias  of  Janow  might  in- 
tend under  this  picture  to  represent  the  entire  secularized  hierarchy. 
It  was  not  to  be  imagined  that  Antichrist  would  form  a  particular  sect, 
or  particular  disciples  and  apostles.  Nor  would  he  come  upon  the 
church  preaching  his  own  name,  in  the  open  and  obvious  manner  with 
which  Mohammed  spread  abroad  his  doctrines ;  that  would  be  a  tyran- 
ny too  strikingly  apparent,  not  at  all  fitted  to  deceive  mankind.  Anti- 
christ must  be  more  cunning  than  all  that.  His  organs  must  stand 
forth  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  profess  to  be  his  ministers.  He  was 
thus  to  deceive  men  under  the  mask  of  Christianity.1  The  multitude 
of  carnal  men,  led  on  by  the  most  subtle  artifices  of  wicked  spirits,  had 
been  brought  to  think  that,  in  following  fables,  they  were  pursuing  the 
right  way ;  to  believe  that  in  persecuting  Christ's  believers,  or  Christ 
and  his  power,  they  were  persecuting  Antichrist  and  the  false  doc- 
trines of  his  agents,  just  as  it  happened  with  those  Jews  and  Pagans 
who  called  Christ  a  deceiver,  and  put  him  and  his  apostles  to  death, 
supposing  that  by  so  doing  they  did  God  service.  Thus  too  the  actual 
Antichrists  would  dream  of  another  Antichrist  to  come.  Commenting 
on  1  John  4  :  3,2  he  thus  addresses  the  christians  of  his  time  :  "  Every 
spirit  who  dissolves  Christ,  is  Antichrist."  Jesus  is  all  power,  all  wis- 
dom, and  all  love.  Every  christian,  therefore,  who  from  design,  either 
in  great  or  in  small,  in  a  part  or  in  the  whole,  dissolves  this,  dissolves 
Jesus ;  for  he  destroys  and  dissolves  God's  power,  God's  wisdom  and 
love ;  and  so,  in  the  mystical  sense,  he  is  Antichrist.  An  Antichrist 
is  every  evil  spirit,  who  in  any  way,  directly  or  indirectly,  opposes  him- 
self to  the  christian  faith  and  christian  manners  among  christians."  Al- 
though Christ  is  eternal,  and  therefore  all  opposition  to  the  divine  being 
may  be  regarded  as  in  a  certain  sense  opposition  to  Christ,  still,  in  the 
proper  sense,  he  thinks  there  was  no  Antichrist  before  the  incarnation.3 
Hence  the  devil,  although  a  liar  and  murderer  from  the  beginning,  yet 

1  Non  est  autumandum,  quod  isdem  an-  2  After  the  Vulgate :    Et   omnis  spiri- 

tichristus  congregaret  sibi  aliquam  sectam  tus,  qui  solvit  Jesum,  ex  deo  non  est.    El 

Bingularem,  vel    discipulos  et    apostolos,  hie  est  antichristus,  de  quo  audistis  quo- 

suis    iniquis    studiis  consenticntes,    sic  ut  niam  venit,  et  nunc  jam  in  mundo  est. 

notorie  et  publice  ecclesiam    invadet,  at-  J  Sed    non  fuit  antichristus,  quia  tunc 

que  verbo  suo  et  praedicatione  sui  nora-  adhuc  non  erat  Christus,  quia  secundum 

inis  in    populis    manifeste  gentes    per  se  modum  loquendi   logicc,  licet  ista  propo- 

seducet.  vcluti  fecit  Machometus  in  Sara-  sitio    sit    vera,  Christus     semper  fuit,    ta- 

cenis ;  non  faciet  tali  modo,  nam  hoc  tie-  men  haec   est  vera,   ante    incarnationem 

ret  tyrannice   solum  et   nimis   manifeste,  filii  dei  non  fuit  antichristus. 
vel  stolide  et  rude. 

17* 


198  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

first  began  to  be  Christ's  murderer,  and  Antichrist,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  christian  church  ;  but  not  everywhere,  but  only  m  the  church  which 
is  the  body  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ.     Before  the  time  of  Christ's 
appearance,  Satan  did  not  need  many  arts  to  maintain  his  dominion 
over  men.     For  Satan  had  already  brought  mankind  once  under  his 
yoke  ;  and  strongly  armed  he  kept  watch  over  his  palace,  (Luke  11  : 
.  21 .)  ;  his  goods  were  in  peace,  and  he  needed  not  give  himself  much 
trouble  or  use  much  deception.     But  when  Christ  appeared,  and  the 
Spirit  was  poured  out  upon  men  in  seven-fold  gifts,  (compare  Isaiah 
11:  2,)  when  everything  visible  and  invisible  was,  made  ministrant  to 
their  salvation,  (where  he  refers  to  Romans  8  :'  38,)   the  case  was 
altered.     And  as  the  evil  spirit  was  now  disarmed  and  laid  bare  by 
Christ,  he  must  summon  to  his  aid  the  collective  host  of  most  malig- 
nant spirits,  and  employ  their  busy  and  cunning  natures  in  the  work  of 
deceiving  and  warring  against  the  saints  of  God.     "  And  so  he  has 
continued   to  do,  down  to  the  present  day.     Nothing  is  weaker  than 
Satan  when  exposed  to  the  light.1    He  works  through  worthless  monks  ; 
carnal  priests ;  the  wise  of  this  world  ;  great  teachers ;  for  these  are  his 
most  efficient  tools  of  mischief."     Applying,  to  his  own  times,  the 
passage  in  2  Thess.  2 :   9,  he  seeks  to  show,  that  in  those  times  also, 
Antichrist  deceived  and  drew  men  to  himself  by  false  miracles,  won- 
ders wrought  by    Satanic  agency,  thus  turning  the  love  of  the  miracu- 
lous to  his  own  ends.     "Our  modern  hypocrites  —  says  he  —  are  so 
fully  possessed  of  the  seven  spirits,  that  there  is  nothing  they  can 
approve,  in  deed  or  word,  however  otherwise  profitable  or  commend- 
able, unless  they  see  signs  and  wonders.     And,  in  truth,  they  ask  for 
signs  more  than  even  the  Jews  did ;  thus  showing  that  Jhey  are  a  still 
more  perverse  and  adulterous  generation,  than  were  the  Jews  in  the 
time  of  Christ.     This  is  hid  from  us,  that  for  these  many  years  genu- 
ine miracles  have  ceased  to  be  wrought  by  the  faithful ;  and  especially 
now,  in  the  time  of  Antichrist,  for  the  trial  of  their  faith."     He  sup- 
poses that  as  faith  was  to  maintain  itself  in  the  time  of  Antichrist, 
under    trials,    miracles    could   not  be    given  any  longer   for  its  sup- 
port ;  false  miracles  only  were  to  be  permitted  for  the  trial  of  faith. 
And  then  he  says  :    "  But  Satan  and  his  instruments  are  allowed  to 
perform  miracles  by  demoniacal  agencies,  on  account  of  them   that 
perish  because  they  would   not  receive  the  love  of  the   truth."     In 
another  place,  he  says :    God  suffers  many  works  to  be  done  by  the 
agency  of  Satan,  that  hypocrites,  in  spite  of  their  lukewarm  and  sen- 
sual life,  may  receive  honor  from  men,  and  other  simple  ones  may  be 
drawn  over  by  such  wonders  to  their  side.     And  the  more  such  won- 
ders are  done  in  the  name  of  Christ,  through  images  and  relics  of 
saints,  or  in  holy  places,  the  more  dangerous  they  are,  on  account  of 
their  greater  influence  in  misleading  the  simple  into  false  doctrines,  so 
as  to  neglect  the  truth  of  the  sacraments  of  the  church,  and  to  surren- 
der themselves  to  fables  and  human  ordinances,  and  the  superstition 
of  sellers  in  the  house  of  God.     Such  delusions,  he  thinks,  Satan  was 

1  Nihil  imbecillius  diabolo  denudato. 


JANOW'S    WORK   DE   REGULIS    V.  ET  N.  T.  199 

allowed  to  practise,  particularly  on  account  of  those  unthankful  christ- 
ians, who  were  ashamed  of  the  truth  and  humility  of  Christ,  and  of  the 
opprobrium  of  his  cross,  despising  the  sacraments  and  especially  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ ;  and  even  the  Holy  Scriptures  had  become 
to  them  common  and  contemptible  as  if  they  were  a  fable,  or  a  very 
lovely  song.1  Therefore  had  the  devil  obtained  from  the  Lord  so  much 
power  to  deceive  ;  but  only  in  secret,  only  in  the  mystery  of  Antichrist ; 
so  that  his  ministers  should  lie  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  that  their 
miracles  should  be  wrought  through  the  image  of  Christ,  and  through 
the  bones  and  other  relics  of  saints.  "  For,  before  God  I  ask  you, 
how  can  any  faithful  christian  wonder,  if  Satan  receives  power  to  exe- 
cute divine  judgment  on  evil-doers,  that  his  lying  wonders  should  be 
wrought  even  through  images  or  the  bones  of  the  saints,  when  power 
was  given  him  over  Christ  in  the  temptation  ?  " 

The  prediction  in  the  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  (2:  3)  rela- 
tive to  the  falling  away  which  should  come  first,  Janow  supposes  had 
been  already  accomplished  in  the  moral  falling  away.  "Faith  —  he 
says  —  is  styled  fides  formata  because  it  is  made  up  of  all  the  virtues. 
For  it  requires  all  other  virtues  in  connection  with  itself,  and  is  kept 
fresh  and  sound  by  every  virtue.2  Hence  it  follows,  that  a  falling  away 
from  the  faith  consists  especially  in  the  admission  of  every  kind  of  sin, 
and  the  omission  of  every  kind  of  virtue  ;  "  and  because  we  see,  on  the 
whole,  at  the  present  day,  in  the  time  of  Antichrist,  all  the  virtues 
neglected  among  Christian  people."3  He  holds  to  a  slow  and  gradual 
evolution  of  the  two  kingdoms  of  Christ  and  Antichrist,  side  by  side. 
The  destruction  of  Antichrist  and  the  multiplication  of  the  true  wit- 
nesses of  Jesus  Christ,  were  to  take  place  in  a  gradual  manner,  begin- 
ning from  that  present  time,  till  all  should  be  carried  into  fulfilment. 
The  time  had  begun  in  the  year  1340  ;  where  we  are  to  observe,  that 
Satan  had  been  gradually  working,  through  Antichrist  as  his  instru- 
ment, for  a  long  period  of  time,  introducing  evil  under  the  appearance 
of  good  among  the  people  of  God,  turning  good  customs  into  abuse,  dif- 
fusing more  widely,  every  day,  his  principal  errors.  While  Satan,  then 
was  thus  gradually  to  introduce  the  mysteries  of  his  Antichrist  into  the 
church,  keeping  his  toils  concealed  ;  so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Lord 
Christ,  gradually  manifesting  himself  in  his  beloved  disciples,  was  at 
length,  before  the  final  judgment,  to  reveal  himself  in  a  great  multitude 
of  preachers.  The  spiritual  revelation  of  Christ,  through  his  genuine 
organs,  the  spiritual  annihilation  of  Antichrist  by  the  same,  and  a  new 
illumination  of  the  church,  were  to  prepare  it  for  the  last  personal  ap- 
pearance of  Christ,  and  precede  that  event.  In  this  spiritual  sense  he 
understood  much  of  that  which  is  said  concerning  the  victory  of  Christ 
over  Antichrist,  and  concerning  the  signs  of  Christ's  appearance.  Thus 

1  Verbum  dei  quoque  ct  omnis  scriptura  3  Sequitur,  quod  discessio  a  fide  maxirae 
divinitus  inspirata  facta  iis  est  nimis  com-  sit  per  admissionem  cajuslibet  peccati  et 
munis  et  inveierata  et  levis.  tanquam  fuit  per  omissionem  cujusque  virlutis.  ct  quia 
tabulae  vel  canticum,  quod  duleiter  sonat.  in  sumraa  hodie  videmus  in  tempore  Anti- 

2  Fides  Jesu  formata  ideo  dicta,  quia  christi  fieri  omissionem  omnis  virtutis  in 
componitur  ex  omni  virtute,  vel  quia  cor-     populo  Christiano. 

requirit  et  iutegratur  ex  omni  virtute. 


200  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

following  Militz,  he  referred  what  Christ  says  respecting  the  sending 
forth  of  the  angels  to  separate  the  good  from  the  bad,  to  the  sending 
forth  of  the  true  messengers  of  the  faith,  inspired  preachers,  who  should 
effect  a  moral  separation  of  the  people  in  the  corrupt  church,  so  that 
the  simple  should  no  longer  follow  after  ravening  wolves,  but  know  to 
whom  they  should  adhere,  and  whose  councils  they  should  avoid,  so 
that  every  excuse  might  be  taken  aAvay  from  sinning  laymen  ;  who 
were  wont  to  say  to  their  reprovers,  Why  accuse  me  of  this  or  that  sin- 
ful action  ?  Do  not  monks  and  priests  even  the  same  ?  Accordingly 
he  says  the  expression  that  Christ  will  destroy  Antichrist  by  the  breath 
of  his  mouth,  is  not  to  be  understood  literally,  but  spiritually  :  that  he 
will  quicken,  by  his  Spirit,  his  elect  priests  and  preachers,  filling  them 
with  the  spirit  of  Elias  and  of  Enoch,  with  the  spirit  of  zeal  and  of  in- 
nocence, with  the  spirit  of  a  glowing  zeal  and  of  penitence,  with  the 
spirit  of  activity  and  of  devotion  ;  that  he  will  multiply  them  in  num- 
ber and  send  forth  his  angels  once  more  through  the  world,  to  banish 
all  troubles  and  grievances  from  his  kingdom,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  work- 
ing through  them,  most  inwardly  and  effectually,  kindling  life  in  the 
dry  bones,  quickening  anew  the  dead  faith  of  many  over  the  wide  field 
of  the  church,  so  that  the  bones,  clothed  with  flesh  and  blood,  should 
awake  to  new  life  in  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God.1  '<  And  bound  with 
each  other  in  the  unity  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  many  should  come  together 
and  be  held  in  union  by  the  cords  of  a  glowing  love  ;  and  such  the 
communities  would  love,  and  would  follow."  Speaking  of  the  signs  of 
these  times,  he  says  :  "  As  John  the  Baptist  pointed  away  to  Christ, 
so  these  signs  point  away  impressively  with  their  fingers  to  Antichrist, 
already  coming  ;  they  point  to  him  now  and  will  point  to  him  still 
more  ;  they  have  revealed  him,  and  will  reveal  him,  till  the  Lord  shall 
destroy  him  with  the  breath  of  his  mouth ;  and  he  will  consume  him 
by  the  brightness  of  his  new  revelation,  until  Satan  is  finally  crushed 
under  his  feet.  The  friends  of  Christ,  however,  will  destroy  him,  will 
rob  him  of  his  trade,  the  company  of  the  preachers  of  Jesus  Christ, 
united  and  bound  together  by  the  love  and  wisdom  which  come  from 
God."  All  holy  Scripture  —  he  says  —  predicts,  that  before  the  end 
of  the  world  the  church  of  Christ  shall  be  reformed,  renovated,  and 
more  widely  extended  ;  that  she  shall  be  restored  to  her  pristine  dig- 
nity, and  that  still,  in  her  old  age,  her  fruitfulness  shall  increase. 2 
"  This  is  what  most  perfectly  accords  —  he  says — with  other  passages 
of  Scripture,  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Prophets,  which  declare  that,  at 
the  end  of  the  world,  the  church  of  Christ  shall  be  reformed,  that  Sodom 
shall  be  restored  to  her  former  dignity,  and  that  Elias  shall  come  and 
restore  again  all  things."     We  should  here  remark  that  Matthias,  in 

m 

1  Quod  dominus  Jesus  inspirabit  suos  spiritu  Jesu  intime  per  eos   operante  et 

electos  sacerdotes  et  praedicatores,  replens  iuflammante  ossa  arida,  fidem  mortuam 

eos  spiritu  Eliae  et  Enoch,  spiritu  zeli  et  multorum. 

innocentiae,   spiritu  fervoris  et  poeniten-  8  This  passage  recurs  again  in  the  paper 

tiae,  spiritu  strenuitatis  et  devotionis,  raul-  De  regno  etc.  Antichristi.  printed  in  the 

tiplicabitque  tales  et  mittet  adhuc  serael  works  of  Huss,  (  I.  fol.  368),  except  that 

per  mundum  universura  suos  angelos,  ut  in  this  copy  a  great  deal  is  mutilated, 
colligant  de  regno   suo   omnia  scandala, 


JANOW'S    WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.  ET   N.    T.  201 

this  place,  discards  -the  old  opinion  that  the  prophet  Elias  was  to  come 
literally  to  prepare  the  way  for  Christ's  second  appearance,  which  had 
its  advocates  among  his  contemporaries ;  and  maintains  that  this  re- 
appearance of  Elias  was  to  be  understood  only  in  the  spiritual  sense  ; 
as  he  says :  "  Thinkest  thou  that  divine  truth,  in  this  passage,  points 
to  the  person  of  Elias,  or  rather  to  some  other  one  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  Elias  and  enriched  with  his  peculiar  gifts  ?  I  believe,  according  to 
my  own  understanding  of  the  place,  that  in  these  words  the  truth  did 
not  mean  literally  Elias,  in  the  person  of  Elias,  or  not  him  alone,  but 
rather  the  spirit  and  the  power  of  Elias  in  the  multitude  of  holy  preach- 
ers and  teachers,  through  whom  his  overflowing  spirit  should  restore 
all  things,  and  that  this  coming  was  to  animate  the  dry  bones.  Were 
the  former  Elias  to  come  bodily  from  paradise,  as  some  have  for  a  long 
time  believed  he  would,  it  does  not  appear  how  one  individual  could 
run  to  and  fro  through  the  whole  world,  and  by  his  own  pains  and 
preaching  be  able  to  restore  the  whole  company  of  the  elect,  for  this 
would  surpass  his  power ;  but  it  is  possible  only  through  the  omnipo- 
tent Spirit  of  Jesus,  that  fills  the  whole  world,  who  requires  for  his 
work  not  so  much  that  literal  Elias,  since  he  can  raise  up  from  the 
very  stones,  from  pagans  and  laymen,  sons  of  Abraham,  many  Eliases  : 
unless  perhaps  it  might  be  said,  it  would  be  of  use  for  Elias  to  come  in 
person,  in  order  that  ignorant  and  negligent  men  might  be  convinced 
by  his  testimony.  Yet  this  argument,  as  it  seems  to  me,  cannot  hold, 
because  holy  Scripture  gives  answer,  in  those  words  addressed  to  the 
rich  man  in  hell,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither 
would  they  be  persuaded  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead  (Luke 
16:  31).  But  suppose  the  case  that  Elias,  coming  in  person,  should 
give  testimony  to  the  truth  ;  yet  this  would  diminish  the  value  of  faith 
in  the  appropriation  of  Christianity,  or  indeed  destroy  its  whole  signifi- 
cance."1 We  see  from  these  words,  how  profoundly  this  man  under- 
stood the  nature  of  faith  as  an  internal  fact  of  the  temper,  the  bent  of 
the  disposition  to  the  godlike,  where  the  act  of  apprehending  in  the  act 
of  surrendering  one's  self  to  the  godlike,  takes  the  place  of  a  constrain- 
ing evidence  ;  as  an  affair  of  the  will,  which  cannot  be  forced  by  any 
power  from  without,  by  any  proofs  that  convince  the  understanding. 
He  then  proceeds :  "  Holy  Scripture  abundantly  testifies  that,  in  the 
last  times,  no  miracles  shall  be  wrought  in  proof  of  the  truth  ;  for  the 
faith  in  Jesus  shall  then  have  reached  its  perfection,  and  so  shall  be 
preserved.  Hence,  too,  all  miracles  have  ceased  on  the  part  of  God's 
saints,  and  the  fabulous  portents  and  prodigies  of  Antichrist  have 
multiplied.  No  reason  therefore  remains,  why  the  person  of  Elias 
should  take  upon  himself  the  labor  of  restoring  all  that  is  in  the  condi- 
tion of  decline."  And  in  this  same  connection  he  mentions  Militz  as 
one  in  whom  Elias  had  reappeared.  He  says  that  the  parables  of  Christ 
relating  to  the  process  of  preparation  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  para- 
bles of  the  leaven  and  of  the  grain  of  mustard  seed,  would  find  their 

1  Et  nunc  dato,  quod  Elias  personaliter  colenda,  tunc  jam  per  hoc  mcritum  fidei 
vcnicns  veritati  testimonium  perhiberet,  et  evacuaretur,  aut  utiquc  cidein  detrahcre- 
indc  videtur,  et  in  relitrione  Christiana  ex-    tur. 


202  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

application,  as  in  the  primitive,  so  also  once  more  and  preeminently  in 
the  last  times. 

We  will  now  endeavor  to  portray  more  minutely  the  character  of 
Matthias  of  Janow,  by  observing  how  he  attacks  the  corruptions  of  the 
church  in  its  different  relations  and  branches,  tracing  back  these  po- 
lemics to  the  fundamental  intuitions  bearing  within  them  the  germ  of 
the  reformation  as  it  was  afterwards  realized  by  Luther.  He  looked 
upon  the  church  as  an  organism  in  which  all  the  members  should  be 
connected  with  each  other  according  to  their  several  gradations,  and 
should  cooperate  together,  like  the  head  and  different  members  of  the 
human  body.  But  now  the  case  was  quite  otherwise  ;  when  the  popes 
had  haughtily  placed  themselves  above  the  bishops,  and  taken  all  the 
power  into  their  own  hands,  and  stood  in  closer  connection  with  the 
princes  than  with  the  bishops.  "  In  the  communities  —  says  he  —  the 
pope  should  first  of  all  be  leagued,  and  should  be  one  hand  with  the 
bishops,  and  take  special  care  that  the  bishops  rightly  discharge  the 
functions  of  their  office,  and  that  they  are  quite  familiar  with  those 
functions.  But  in  fact  he  is  more  closely  leagued  with  kings  and 
princes,  exalting  himself  above  measure  over  those  who,  jointly  with 
him,  preside  over  the  governance  of  the  church.  Besides  this  ;  break- 
ing up  the  regular  and  orderly  connection  throughout  the  whole  body, 
he  has  usurped  to  himself  the  distribution  of  benefices  which  belonged 
to  the  bishops.  Neither  do  the  bishops  stand  in  that  beautiful  relation 
in  which  they  ought  to  stand  to  the  parish  priests ;  but  they  place 
themselves  too  far  above  them,  and  would  rule  over  the  clergy.  Thus 
the  parish  priests  stand  at  a  farther  remove  from  the  bishops  than  is 
right  or  profitable  for  the  church ;  they  are  strangers  and  unknown  to 
them.  The  bishops  themselves  have  their  most  familiar  intercourse 
with  the  barons  of  the  land,  with  the  princes,  and  with  their  own  great 
canonicals,  and  the  rich  men  of  the  world.  They  do  not  take  all  suit- 
able pains  for  the  good,  useful,  and  wholesome  placing  of  the  parish 
priests,  but  are  taken  up  with  managing  the  affairs  of  the  lords,  and 
with  other  temporal  and  civil  concerns  ;  while  other  bishops  are  so 
wholly  in  their  own  devotion,  as  to  bestow  but  little  attention  on  their 
sons  the  parish  priests.  And  hence  arises  great  harm  both  to  soul 
and  body.  Such  sacrifices  of  private  devotion  were  not  well  pleasing 
to  God.  He  describes  the  peace  which  they  would  conclude  between 
themselves  and  God  alone  ;  the  long  psalms  ;  the  tender  and  perhaps 
tearful  devotion  ;  of  all  this  he  says  :  "  Consider,  how  little  acceptable 
it  can  be  to  the  Lord,  when  he  says  to  Peter,  Lovest  thou  me  more 
than  these?  (John  xxi.),  and,  Feed  my  sheep  ;  but  did  not  say  to 
him,  Obtain  peace  for  thyself  in  thy  private  residence.  So  again,  the 
hearts  of  the  parish  ministers  and  priests  are  not  bound  up  in  true 
union  with  their  communities,  but  are  divided  from  them  by  many  vain 
and  frivolous  concerns  ;  especially  do  they  hug  closely  to  wealth,  to 
honors,  and  their  own  emolument.  For  they  too  —  he  says  of  them 
—  put  themselves  too  much  above  their  communities,  are  too  much 
estranged  from  them ;  have  too  much  respect  for  persons."  He  says 
the  people  should  be  subject  to  the  priests  and  the  princes,  to  the  for 


JANOW'S    WOKK    DE   REGULIS    V.    ET   N.    T.  203 

mer  in  spiritual,  to  the  latter  in  temporal  things  ;  but  the  people  are 
disobedient  to  the  clergy,  not  so  much  through  the  fault  of  the  people 
or  of  the  princes,  as  through  the  fault  of  the  licentious  and  carnal 
priests.  "  First  —  says  he  —  because  we  priests,  descending  to  the 
ldve  of  this  world,  and  given  to  fleshly  pleasures,  were  robbed  of  the 
strength  with  which  we  were  armed  from  above,  as  Sampson  of  old  was 
robbed  by  a  harlot  of  his  hair,  we  have  become  weak  and  foolish,  like 
the  kings  and  princes,  and  so  contemptible  to  the  people  and  to  man- 
kind ;  and  hence  the  fear  and  veneration  of  the  communities  towards 
us  has  been  extinguished,  and  the  people  are  already  discontented 
with  being  subject  to  us  and  with  obeying  us  ;  so  that  where  they  can- 
not help  themselves,  they  obey  us  only  with  disgust,  because  we  are 
carnal  and  look  only  after  our  own  comfort.  Hence  we  have  become 
pusillanimous  and  effeminate,  exercising  meditation  but  faintly  and 
lukewarmly,  and  giving  way  from  fear  to  those  who  invade  our  rights 
and  liberties  ;  and  thus  by  degrees  our  authority  and  the  weight  of  our 
influence  has  become  nothing ;  the  people  have  broke  loose  from  it, 
since  we  take  pleasure  in  the  society  of  the  friends  of  this  world,  and 
in  having  a  share  in  whatever  they  love.  And  because  toe  have  not 
obeyed  our  God,  with  good  reason  we  are  not  ourselves  obeyed  by 
those  who  are  under  us  ;  and  because  we  have  forgotten  Jesus  the 
crucified,  the  people  have  also  forgotten  our  great  power  and  our  great 
authority  ;  and  because  we  have  rejected  the  cross  of  Christ  and  its 
reproach  which  was  our  greatest  glory,  we  have  ourselves  lost*  thereby 
our  own  good  name.  And  because  we  sought  the  glory  and  honor  of 
this  world,  the  greatest  abomination  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  Jesus  the 
crucified,  and  of  the  church  of  the  faithful,  therefore  are  we  become 
objects  of  abhorrence  to  him  and  to  his  saints,  and  in  particular  to  the 
holy  church  militant ;  therefore  has  the  left  hand  of  the  church,  the  secu- 
lar arm,  become  too  fat,  and  gained  too  great  an  extension  in  its  flesh,  the 
fleshly  persons  belonging  to  it;  while  the  right  hand,  the  spiritual  author- 
ity and  jurisdiction,  is  greatly  wasted  and  weakened  ;  and  therefore  has 
the  right  hand  of  the  church,  which  should  be  filled  with  spiritual  treas- 
ures, suffered  itself  to  be  filled  rather,  like  the  left  hand,  with  the  pleas- 
ures and  honors  of  this  world.  To  unite  both  together  was  impossible,  as 
no  man  can  serve  two  masters."  He  refers  to  the  commission  of  the  apos- 
tles, who  were  directed  to  take  nothing  for  their  journey,  and  to  Peter's 
words  —  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none.  He  endeavors  to  make  it  plain  by  a 
comparison,  how  much  depended  on  the  character  and  ability  of  the 
pariah  priest.  "  We  are  to  notice  here  —  says  he  — that  the  arm,  how- 
ever strong  in  itself,  is  still  without  any  great  power  of  lifting  or  hold- 
ing, unless  the  fingers  of  the  hand  are  strong." ]  Were  the  arm 
wounded,  if  but  the  fingers  were  healthy  and  strong,  the  hand  would 
still  be  capable  of  doing  a  good  deal,  capable  of  managing  weapons,  etc2 

1  Unde  hie  est  advertendum,  quod  om-  2  Et  si  digiti  essent  sani  et  fortes,  man- 

nis  manus,  quantumcunque  sit  fortis  et  ro-  ente  alias  tarnen  manu  laesa  in  hrachiis  et 

busta  in  brachiis  suis,  tenere  tamen   multa  vulnerata,  adliuc  tota  maims  cssct  capax 

non    potest    vel   comprehendere,   nisi    per  armornm  vel  bonoruin  pluriinonim. 
summitates  manus,  vel  per  fortes  et  inte- 
gros  digitos. 


204  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

He  uses  this  figure  to  illustrate  the  great  importance  of  the  parish 
priests  to  the  prosperity  of  the  church  ;  and  the  necessity  of  multiply- 
ing them.  Even  though  the  popes  and  the  bishops  should  be  negligent, 
weak,  or  in  other  respects  incapable,  as  they  often  really  were,  yet 
if  this  company  of  the  devout  priests,  who  were  brought  into  immediate 
intercourse  with  the  communities  themselves,  remained  sound  and  ca- 
pable, the  folds  of  Christ  would  neither  be  scattered,  nor  neglected,  nor 
subjugated  by  their  enemies  ; l  because  the  Lord  Jesus,  through  whose 
power  alone  these  priests  bring  forth  fruit  in  laboring  for  the  salvation 
of  souls,  stands  by  them  equally  as  well,  replenishing  his  fellow- 
laborers  and  faithful  ones,  in  equally  as  peculiar  and  direct  a  manner, 
with  all  the  fulness  of  his  grace'  and  power."2  It  is  evident  from 
these  words,  that  although  Matthias  left  the  papacy  with  the  entire 
hierarchical  fabric  untouched,  yet  an  altogether  different  view  of  the 
nature  of  church  governance  lay  at  the  basis  of  his  ideas  concerning  the 
best  condition  of  the  church.  The  guidance  of  the  church  by  means  of 
the  word,  proceeding  from  the  lips  of  the  parochial  clergy,  was  with  him 
the  main  thing.     He  thought  lightly  of  all  the  rest. 

One  reason  of  the  corruption  of  the  church  appeared  to  him  to  be 
the  overloading  it  with  human  ordinances,  the  excessive  multiplication 
of  ecclesiastical  laws.  Let  us  hear  what  he  has  to  say  on  this  subject. 
The  multitude  of  commands  and  prohibitions  is  a  wily  trick  of  Satan  to 
bring  men  under  his  yoke,  and  to  entangle  their  souls ;  since  it  invari- 
ably happens  that  the  inferior  clergy  will,  among  the  communities,  do 
many  things  which  are  forbidden  by  their  superiors,  and  omit  to  do 
many  things  which  are  prescribed  by  the  ordinances  of  their  superiors  ; 
especially  when  these  ordinances  are  become  so  multiplied,  that  to  know 
them  all,  it  would  be  necessary  to  provide  one's  self  with  many  large 
volumes  and  to  expend  a  great  deal  of  money  and  time  in  studying  them, 
ere  it  would  be  possible  to  have  an  exact  knowledge  and  understanding 
of  the  whole.  For  by  what  possibility  could  every  individual  clergyman 
become  owner  of  the  Decretum  and  the  Decretals,  the  sixth  book  of  the 
Decretals  and  the  Clementines  ?  The  understanding  of  all  this  is  so 
difficult,  that  hardly  would  a  man  of  good  abilities  find  it  in  his  power 
to  obtain  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  subject  in  three  years.  How 
can  a  pastor,  occupied  with  looking  after  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
community  entrusted  to  his  care,  find  time  for  so  tedious  and  exact  a 
study,  and  make  himself  so  familiar  with  those  laws,  that  the  decisions 
on  every  point  should  be  ever  present  to  his  mind  ?  3     And  yet  this 

1  Dato  casu,  ut  plurimum  fieri  assolet,  omni  plenitudine  gratiarum  et  virtute,  cu- 
quod  jam  brachium  episcoporum  Roman-  jus  solius  potestate  isti  sacerdotes  fructnm 
orum  vel  alii  episcopi  inveniantur  negli-  affernnt  et  in  salute  animarum  proficiunt 
gentes,  debiles  vel  quovis  modo  vulnerati,  et  operantur. 

tamen  si  haec  multitudo  sanctorum  sacer-  3  Quoniodo  curatus  occupatus  in  operi- 

dotum  applicata  immediate  plebibus  inte-  bus  salutis  in  plebes  commissas  potest  ip- 

gra  et  fortis  manserit,  tunc  greges  Christi  sas  ita  per  Ionga  et  diligentissima  studia 

Jesu  adhuc  non  negligentur  neque  disper  incorporare  et  ipsas  familiares  sibi  ita  red- 

gentur  neque  expugnabuntur  ab  inimicis.  dere,  ut  quaelibet  puucta  in  iis  contenta 

2  Quia  dominus  Jesus  ipsis  assistit  aeque  semper  et  ubique  ad  manum  habeat  et  in 
bene  et  aeque  proprie  et  immediate  cum  promptu. 

6uis  cooperatoribus  et  suis  fidelibus  cum 


JANOW'S    WORK    DE    REGULIS    V.  ET   N.    T.  205 

would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  each  individual,  if  he  would  avoid 
being  entrapped  in  many  things  by  Satan,  and  at  length  condemned  as 
a  transgressor.  And  while  the  parish  priests  are  thus  burdened,  they 
on  their  own  part  burden  the  laymen,  the  communities,  the  heads  of 
households,  with  extortions  and  human  ordinances,  devised  for  the 
purpose  of  gain ;  and  deprive  them  of  many  of  the  liberties  pertaining 
to  divine  worship.  "  And  if  one  —  says  he  —  should  act  differently 
from  what  these  ordinances  require,  he  knows  that  he  must  incur  the 
anger  of  God  and  his  saints,  or  the  anathema.  They  have  enthralled 
the  conscience  of  the  people,  declaring  the  transgression  of  their  rules 
to  be  a  mortal  sin  ;  for  in  these  days  they  lay  more  stress  on  a  failure 
to  observe  minutely  the  order  of  the  liturgy,  than  on  the  sins  of  lying, 
of  a  sleepy  indolence,  or  covetousness,  or  anything  of  the  like  nature  ; 
so  that  men  now-a-days  are  more  afraid  to  transgress  one  of  these  hu- 
man ordinances  than  the  commandments  of  God  himself."  "  The  more 
ordinances  there  are  —  says  he  —  the  more  frequent  are  transgressions 
and  the  stronger  the  temptations  to  transgress.  Neither  do  they  con- 
sider how  these  multifarious  ordinances  force  the  multitude  to  despise 
them  and  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  at  the  same  time ;  which 
arises  from  the  fact  that  he  whose  mind  is  turned  on  many  things,  is 
so  much  the  less  fitted  for  single  duties  ;  and  from  the  fact  that  such 
ordinances,  since  they  relate  to  sensible  and  outward  things,  appear 
to  the  communities  in  a  peculiarly  clear  light,  and  inspire  in  them 
reverence  ;  while  the  commandments  of  God  are  spiritual,  and  God 
who  ordains  them  is  a  being  whom  they  cannot  see.  Such  ordinances, 
therefore,  owing  to  the  constant  presence  of  the  lawgiver,  make  a 
greater  impression  on  the  multitude,  than  the  commandments  of  the 
invisible  God.  Then,  again,  these  commandments  appear  to  carnal  men 
as  every-day  matters  ;  while  those  human  ordinances,  being  something 
new,  make  a  stronger  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  people.  Again, 
men  are  fond  of  seeking  their  salvation  in  such  sensible  and  corporeal 
things,  which  lie  near  their  capacities  ;  and  lose  sight  of  the  Crucified, 
who  alone  is  the  salvation  of  souls.  And  they  settle  it  fast  in  their 
consciences,  that  they  can  be  justified  by  such  visible  things,  though 
the  spiritual  love  of  Christ  may  be  absent  from  their  hearts."  He  seeks 
to  show  how  this  multitude  of  laws,  and  this  externalization  of  re- 
ligion, lead  men  away  from  Christ.  "  In  these  days  —  he  says  — 
Satan  has  done  much  to  draw  away  Christians  from  Christ ;  for  in  these 
days  men  are  ashamed  even  to  mention  Jesus  the  crucified,  or  him 
who  was  spit  upon.1  Nay,  they  abhor  to  hear  such  truths  ;  and  they 
vehemently  censure  and  persecute  the  persons  who  thus  confess  Christ. 
And  such  things  have  already  been  introduced  into  the  pulpit ;  so  that 
those  false  prophets  despise  and  persecute  the  men  who  confess  Jesus 
who  was  crucified  and  spit  upon,  and  say  it  is  quite  enough  to  pro- 
nounce such  words  once  a-year ; 2  and  the  same  false  prophets  extol  to 

1  Idcirco  hac  via  Satanas  multum  hodie     suspensum  in  patibulo  a  at  horrende  occi- 
profecit  in  Chri.stiunoruni  abductione,  nam     sum. 

hodie  jam  Christiani  horrent  nominare  Je-         *  Et  dicant,  quod  sufficit  talia  semel  in 
sum  crncifixam  vel  Jesum  consputum  vel    anno  nominare. 
VOL.  V.  18 


206  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  skies  their  stately  ceremonies  and  their  ordinances  addressed  to  the 
eyes  of  the  people,  and  pronounce  anathema  on  every  man  who  does 
not  punctiliously  observe  them.  Satan  does  all  that  lies  in  his  power 
to  bring  it  about  that  the  memory  of  Jesus  Christ  should  be  obliterated 
from  the  hearts  of  Christians."  Appealing  to  the  apostle  Paul,  he 
maintains,  that  many  laws  avail  nothing  ;  "  for  man's  unbridled  wick- 
edness, ever  striving  to  exceed  weight  and  measure,  will  not.  be  kept 
in  check  by  human  laws  and  ordinances,  when  it  always  despises  the 
laws  of  God ;  for  it  is  continually  breaking  over  the  latter,  and  the 
more,  with  greater  effort,  greater  pride  and  contempt,  in  proportion  as 
it  meets  with  obstacles  to  hinder  it.  Let  not  precepts  and  prohibitions, 
then,  be  multiplied  in  the  church  ;  for  by  means  of  them  the  devil  has 
acquired  a  great  power  of  involving  the  people  in  greater  guilt ;  partly 
because,  as  has  been  said,  he  takes  occasion  from  these  ordinances  to 
tempt  them,  and  partly  because  these  ordinances  ensnare  men's  con- 
sciences, and  make  the  sins  of  the  unrighteous  still  heavier."  He  ac- 
knowledges that  evil  doers  ought  to  be  punished  on  account  of  their 
transgression  of  the  commandments  of  the  Lord,  and  ought  to  be  re- 
strained from  the  commission  of  sin,  by  terror  ;  that  those  should  be 
tamed  and  subdued  by  terror  who  still  remain  at  a  stage  little  superior 
to  that  of  brutes,  who  have  no  understanding  of  that  which  is  good.1 
But  the  righteous,  they  who  are  actuated  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  the 
crucified,  stand  in  no  need  of  multiplied  human  commands  and  prohi- 
bitions ;  because  the  Spirit  of  God  guides  and  teaches  them,  and  be- 
cause they  practise  the  virtues  and  obey  the  truths  of  God  spontane- 
ously and  cheerfully,  like  a  good  tree,  which  brings  forth  good  fruit  of 
itself,  God  ever  supplying  the  power  from  above  ;  2  because  such,  made 
free  by  the  indwelling  Spirit  of  Christ,  generally  feel  themselves 
cramped  and  confined  by  the  multitude  of  ordinances,  even  in  the  per- 
formance of  virtuous  works."  He  illustrates  this  by  the  case  of  the 
Jews  who  would  have  prevented  Jesus  from  healing  the  sick  because 
it  was  the  sabbath  day  ;  also  by  the  case  of  the  Pharisees,  who  would 
have  kept  Christ  from  plucking  the  ears  of  corn  on  the  sabbath ;  and 
by  the  reply  which  he  made  to  them  (Matt.  12:  7).  "No  man  — 
says  he  —  can  possibly  invent  laws  suited  to  every  contingency  and  re- 
lation ;  the  Spirit  of  God  alone  can  do  this,  who  knows  all  things  and 
holds  them  together ;  and  inasmuch  as  this  Spirit  is  present  every- 
where and  to  all  men,  the  spirit  of  man  also,  which  is  in  himself,  which 
with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  alone  knows  what  is  in  man.  This  spirit  of 
man,  which  is  everywhere  in  men,  which  everywhere  searcheth  the 
man  as  such,  has  the  knowledge  of  his  powers  and  of  his  wants,  this 

1  Iniqui  tamen  indigent  poena  vel  vin-        2  Si  vero  sunt  justi  et  acti  spiritu  Jesu 

dicta  pro  suis  peceatis  et   pro  transgres-  crucifixi,  tunc  hi    non  indigent  mandatis 

sione  praeceptorum  dominicorum  ;  impcdi-  et  contradictionibus  humanis  plurificatis, 

endi  sunt  a  suis  malis  conatibus,  vel  in  turn  quia  docet  eos  et  ducit  spiritus  dei, 

eorum    prava    voluntate    per    hujusmodi  turn  quia  voluntarie  et  dulciter  virtutes  et 

praeeepta  prohibitiva,  quae   parant  viam  veritates  dei  operantur,  tanquam  bona  ar- 

justitiae  ad  vindictam  exsequendam  prop-  bor  per  se  fructus  bonos  producens,  deo 

ter  terrorem  bestiarum,  in  quibus  non  est  desuper  dante. 
bouorum  intellectus. 


JANOW'S    WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.   ET   N.    T.  207 

alone  can  give  to  each  man  befitting  laws  and  establish  them.   He  brings 
in  illustration  of  this  the  ten  commandments,  which  are  plain  to  everv 
one,  even  the  dullest  of  understanding,  so  that  no  man  can  pretend 
that  he  is  embarrassed  by  them  ;  and  Jesus  the  crucified,  who  is  the 
power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  has  in  a  certain  manner  briefly 
summed  them  up  in  a  single  precept,  requiring  love  to  God  and  our 
neighbor  ;  for  love  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law,  and  love  is  the  perfect 
law  of  liberty.     All  other  and  multiplied  laws  of  men  —  he  says  —  are 
superfluous  and  inadequate.    They  ought  not  to  be  called  traditions,  but 
superstitions.    No  man  can  frame  a  law  adapted  to  all  times  and  places 
and  circumstances,  which  is  not  contained  in  that  one  precept.    To  the 
class  above  mentioned,  he  reckons  the  laws  regulating  fasts,  seasons  of 
prayer,  the  number  of  hymns  which  are  to  be  sung,  and  the  like.     To 
them  he  ascribes  frequent  disquietude  of  conscience,  which  arose  from 
the  fear  of  having  transgressed  such  laws.     Confession  to  the  priests 
served  to  illustrate  the  same  thing,  who  made  it  much  more  a  matter 
of  conscience  to  have  committed  a  mistake  with  regard  to  ecclesiastical 
hours,  than  to  have  transgressed  any  one  of  the  laws  of  God.     He 
wishes  things  might  be  so  ordered  that  no  other  fear  or  punishment 
should  ever  be  held  up  before  subjects  than  in  reference  to  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  commands.  All  other  inventions  of  men  should  be 
regarded  simply  as  counsels.     At  the  same  time,  however,  while  he 
thus  refers  everything  to  the  law  of  Christ  as  the  only  valid  law,  he 
defends  himself  against  the  objection,  that  by  so  doing  he  would  over- 
turn all  human  law,  and  says :  "  I  have  not  been  so  presumptuous,  I 
protest,  as  to  attack  the  decrees  and  ordinances  of  the  holy  fathers 
and  of  the  approved  councils,  who,  actuated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  have 
so  done  and  ordered  all  that  has  been  done  and  ordered  by  them; 
bat  my  attack  is  directed  against  those  who,  instead  of  being  inspired 
by  the   love  of  Christ,  strive  and  have  striven,  under  the  impulse  of 
their  passions,  to  glorify  themselves,  and  who  take  more  delight  in  the 
glory  of  their  oivn  name,  than  in  honoring  the  name  of  Jesus  who  was 
crucified."    Thus  human  laws  were  to  be  recognized  only  as  such,  and 
the  commandments  of  God  to  remain  in  their  dignity,  and  as  such  to  be 
reverenced  and  obeyed.    This  the  faithful  apostle  of  Christ,  who  might 
well  serve  as  an  example  to  all  disciples,   had  wonderfully  illustrated 
in  himself:  for  Paul  (in  1  Cor.  vii.)  distinguishes  what  he  says  in  his 
own  name  from  what  he  makes  known  as  a  precept  of  the  Lord.    "  Mark 
—  says  he  —  with  what  discrimination  and  moderation  he  speaks  to  his 
flock,  so  as  nowhere  to  impose  a  necessity  and  nowhere  to  inspire  fear, 
except  for  the  precepts  and  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     He 
places  in  contrast  with  this  the  form  of  the  papal  bull :    Jubemus  man- 
damus, etc.    Following  directly  after  this  is  a  prophetic  utterance  :  "  I 
speak  to  all  ;    let  him  who  is  capable  of  receiving  it,  receive   it. 
So  have  I  gathered  from  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  I  believe,  that  all  the 
above-named  wo?-Jes  of  men,  ordinances  and  ceremonies,  will  be  utterly 
extirpated,  cut  up  by  the  roots  and  cease  ;  and  God  alone  will  be  exalted, 
and  his  word  will  abide  forever  ;    and  the  time  is  close  at  hand,  when 


208  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

these  ordinances  shall  be  abolished."1     In  another  place  he  says  : 
"  All  rules  are  one  ;  they  proceed  from  one  principle  and  aim  at  one 
end.    They  do  not  obtain  their  authority  from  themselves,  nor  are  they 
observed  in  the  church  of  God  on  their  own  account  ;  but  they  are  in- 
separably included  in  the  same  holy  law  of  Christ,  which  is  inscribed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  believers,  which  binds  many  widely- 
separated  nations  in  union  with  one  another,  and  makes  all  dwell  with 
one  set  of  manners  in  the  house  of  Jesus  the  crucified.2    While  the  one 
commandment  of  Christ,  and  his  one  sacrifice  preserved  in  the  church, 
greatly  promote  unity,  so  on  the  other  hand,  the  multitudinous  pre- 
scriptions of  men  burden  and  disturb  the  collective  body  of  the  church 
of  Christ."     He  is  continually  falling  back  on  the  principle,  that  unity 
among  men  can  only  come  from  the  word  of  God  ;  a  forced  uniformity 
would  of  necessity  produce  nothing  but  divisions.     He  endeavors  also, 
in  his  own  w.ty,  to  establish  this  principle  speculatively.     God  alone  is 
the  infallible  and  self-sufficient  being,  needing  no  rules  from  without 
to  govern  his  conduct.     His  own  will  is  his  rule,  and  his  wisdom  is  the 
immutable  rule  for  that.    This  supreme  rule  is  the  Father  himself;  the 
Son  of  God  is  the  rule  for  all  creatures.    This  primal  type  and  this  rule 
is  the  Word  of  the  Father ;  the  Father  worketh  everything  through 
him  ;   and  after  the  same  analogy,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  beauty  and  the 
proportion  of  this  rule,  which  nowise  differs  in  essence  from  that  primal 
type  ;    hence  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Word  are  the  only  true  rule  for 
all  that  relates  to  man  ;  hence,  therefore,  the  Father  is  the  shaping 
principle,  from  which  all  things  proceed  ;  the  Son  the  shaping  princi- 
ple towards  which  all  things  aim  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  the  principle  in  which 
all  things  repose  ;  and  yet  there  are  not  three  rules  or  forms,  but  one. 
Hence  he  infers  that  the   highest  rule,  by  which  everything  is  to  be 
tried,  is  Christ,  that  single   rule,  which  is  alone  necessary  and  alone 
sufficient  for  all  apostles  and  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  in 
all  matters,  in  every  place,  and  at  all  times  ;  not  only  for  men,  but 
also  for  angels,  because   he  is  himself  that  truth  and  wisdom  which 
works  mightily  from  one  end  of  being  to  the  other.     God  imparted  to 
all  essences  a  tendency  and  direction  to  their  ultimate  end,  and  in 
their  just  relation  to  that  consists  their  perfection  and  the  perfection  of 
the  universe.    This  is  the  inmost  determining  rule  for  each  essence, 
but  it  is  a  thing  not  different  from  the  essence  of  the  object  itself. 
The  rule  by  which  all  things  are  governed,  is  a  different  matter.    This, 
holy  Scripture  calls  by  various  names,  God's  word,  God's  will,  etc. 
Although  this  is  the  common  rule  for  all,  yet  it  is  the  rule  preeminently 
for  rational  beings  ;  because  other  beings  cannot  consciously  appre- 
hend it,  nor  freely  appropriate  it  as  their  own.3     Then  he  comes  upon 

1  Et  puto,  quod  omnia  praenotata  opera  auctorisatae  in  dei  ecclesia,  ut  definitae 
hominum,  caerimoniae  et  traditiones  fun-  seorsim,  sed  inclusae  indivisibiliter  in  una 
dims  destrnentur  et  cessabunt,  et  exaltabi-  eademque  sancta  lege  et  regula  Christiana 
tur  deus  solus,  et  verbum  ipsius  manebit  a  Christo  Jesu  tradita  per  spiritum  sanc- 
in  aeternum,  et  tempus  illud  jam  instat,  turn  in  cordibus  fidelium  descripta. 

in  quo  ilia  evacuabuntur.  3  Quoniam  omnes  res  aliae  a  rationalibus 

2  Regulae  omnes  sunt  unum  et  ex  uno  creaturis,  quamvis  ab  hac  veritate  et  se- 
ad  unum,  non  autem  per  se  celebratae  et     cundum  earn  gubernantur  pro  sua  natura 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE    REGULIS  V.  ET  N.  TESTAMENTI.  209 

the  idea  of  positive  law,  and  says  :  "  This  has  not  been  able  to  reform 
rational  beings  who  have  fallen  from  the  truth  inwardly  inscribed  on 
their  hearts  ;  but  rather  became  an  occasion  of  still  greater  departures 
from  order,  and  internal  hardness  through  sin.  Sin,  he  remarks,  with 
allusion  to  the  well  known  words  of  the  apostle  Paul,  became  still  more 
sin  than  it  was  before,  from  the  very  circumstance  that  it  was  now  for- 
bidden not  only  by  the  law  within,  but  by  another  from  without.1 
For  the  more  men  are  provided  with  means  of  grace,  the  more 
knowledge  they  have,  the  greater  in  the  same  proportion  is  their  guilt, 
when,  on  account  of  sin,  these  means  and  this  knowledge  are  despised. 
God  now  finally  determined  to  communicate  to  man  his  will  in  the 
most  perfect  manner,  by  teaching  him,  through  the  Holy  Spirit,  all 
truth  in  a  living  way  ;  and  here  he  cites  the  words :  It  is  the  Spirit 
that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing  ;  and  outwardly  he  set  be- 
fore him  his  will  through  the  revelation  of  the  incarnate  Word  ;  re- 
minding man  of  his  duty  in  a  way  the  most  cogent  and  the  most  effec- 
tive, both  from  within,  by  the  incarnate  Word  that  dwells  in  us,  and 
from  without,  by  his  divine  works  standing  before  our  eyes  ;  from 
within,  by  grace  and  love,  from  without,  by  the  sacraments  which  con- 
tain and  produce  grace.  This  internal  inscription  of  the  truth  upon 
the  heart,  includes  in  it  the  two  preceding  revelations  of  it  (he  means, 
without  doubt,  positive  law  and  the  law  of  conscience),  and  has  vivified 
and  reformed  them."  2  After  having  spoken-  as  already  before,  of  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  ten  commandments,  and  of  the  fact  that  these  had  been  sum- 
med up  in  the  one  commandment  of  love,  he  observes  that  Jesus,  who  sim- 
plifies everything,  had  abolished  the  multitude  of  sacrifices  and  ceremonies, 
and  substituted  in  their  place  the  one  heavenly  sacrifice :  this  was  so  or- 
dered for  the  purpose  of  preserving  unity  in  the  church.  Even  the  apostles 
had  subsequently  imposed  no  new  ordinances,  or  but  very  few.  and  they  had 
given  no  other  commandment  than  the  love  of  God  and  of  our  neighbor, 
which  last  they  had  sought  chiefly  to  commend,  to  impress,  and  to 
spread  abroad  among  the  nations.  Hence  Christ  had  left  no  Written 
law  for  those  who  came  after  him,  though  he  might,  in  various  ways, 
have  done  so  during  his  life  time  ;  but  he  only  gave  his  good  Spirit, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Father  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful,  as  the  alone  living 
and  perfect  law,  and  the  all-sufficient  rule  of  life.  So  too  the  apostles 
had  given  but  few  laws,  since  they  doubtless  knew,  that  the  law  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  sufficed,  which  teacheth  all  truth,  always,  everywhere,  in 
the  most  internal  and  immediate  way.  This  led  him  to  explain  him- 
self on  a  matter  which  seemed  to  be  at  variance  with  these  views,  viz. 
the  apostolical  ordinances  of  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem.  We  will  cite 
this  remarkable  passage,  which  contains  a  great  deal  of  good  sense. 
'"  The  apostles  let  themselves  down  to  the  weakness  of  the  new  con- 
verts from  Judaism  ;  and  by  so  doing  they  softened,  in  some  measure, 

vol  forma,  tamen  eandem  non  cognoscunt,  et  foris  peccatum  prohibebatur. 

Deque  habent  in  suis  operatiouibus  dec-  2  Haec  itaque  veritatis  inscriptio  colle- 

toonem.  git  in  se  ambas  praecedentes,  easque  vivi- 

1  Multo  magis  enim  peccatum  peccantis  ficavit  et  reformavit. 
tunc  erat,  quam  prius,  quia  jam  de  intus 

18* 


210  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  hostile  tone  of  feeling  entertained  bj  the  Jews  towards  the  Chris- 
tians ;  and  they  would  show,  thereby,  their  reverence  for  the  ancient 
law,  that  the  synagogue  might  not  seem  to  be  cast  aside  so  all  at  once ; 
for  the  ancient  mother,  who  was  now  dead,  should  be  buried  in  a  re- 
spectful manner."  '  Haying  spoken  next  against  the  multiplying  of  laws, 
because  of  the  difficulty  which  the  laity  must  experience  of  knowing 
them  all,  he  adds  :  "  For  this  reason  I  have  myself  come  to  the  set- 
tled conclusion  that  it  would  be  a  salutary  thing,  and  calculated  to 
restore  peace  and  union  to  Christendom,  to  root  up  that  whole  planta- 
tion, and  once  more  sum  up  the  whole  in  that  single  precept,  to  bring 
back  the  Christian  church  to  those  sound  and  simple  beginnings  where 
it  would  be  needful  to  retain  but  a  few,  and  those  only  the  apostolical 
laws.  For  I  believe,  before  my  Lord  Jesus  the  crucified,  that  the  law 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  common  fathers,  the  parish  priests,  the 
pope  and  the  bishops,  parochial  clergy  and  their  assistants,  all  these 
are  sufficient  for  the  right  guidance  of  the  communities,  and  that  they 
are  sufficient  for  each  individual,  sufficient  to  resolve  every  question, 
and  to  decide  all  matters  before  the  judicial  tribunals  and  the  tribu- 
nal of  conscience."  From  these  principles  he  thinks  it  possible  also  to 
demonstrate  that  monastic  orders  are  not  needed  for  the  governance  of 
the  church. 

Though  Matthias  did  not  take  any  open  stand  against  the  hierarchi- 
cal system,  yet  he  appears  nevertheless  to  have  been  a  forerunner  of 
Protestantism  in  this,  that  he  everywhere  holds  distinctly  up  to  view 
the  immediate  reference  of  the  religious  consciousness  to  Christ,  and 
makes  the  true  unity  of  the  church  to  rest  solely  upon  that  foundation. 
But  of  the  many  passages  relating  to  this  point  which  might  be  cited, 
we  will  select  only  the  following :  "  It  is  Jesus  Christ  himself,  who 
with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ever  dwells  in  his  church  and  in 
each,  even  most  insignificant  portion  of  it,  holding  together,  sustaining 
and  vitalizing  the  whole  and  all  the  parts,  directly  and  from  within  giv- 
ing growth  outwardly  to  the  whole  and  to  each,  even  the  most  insignifi- 
cant part.  He  is,  therefore,  himself  the  spirit  and  life  of  his  church, 
his  mystical  body .2  Jesus,  the  crucified,  is  the  vine ;  and  all  the 
branches  proceeding  from  him  and  abiding  in  him,  have  and  ought  to 
have  respect  to  him  alone ,3  and  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than 
that  is  laid."  This  immediate  reference  of  the  religious  consciousness 
to  Christ  being  placed  at  the  head,  everything  else  must  take  its  shap- 
ing accordingly  ;  and  we  recognize  here  the  germinal  principle  of  a  new 
spirit,  destined  to  burst  asunder  the  old  forms  under  which  the  christ- 
ian spirit  had  been  shackled  and  confined.     He  says,  "  all  unity  pre- 

1    Condescendentes   infirmitati  fratrum  parti  ejus  et  minutissimae  semper  assist- 

novitiorum  ex  Judaismo  eonversorum,  et  ens  totum  et  quamlibet  ipsius  partem  im- 

per  hoc  compescentes  aliqualiter  Christ-  mediate  atque  intrinsece  continet,  susten- 

ianorum  injuriam,  et  propter  reverentiam  tat  et  viviticat,  dat  incrementum   toti    et 

legis  veteris,  ne  tam  cito  refutata  videre-  cuilibet  et  minimae  parti  ejus,  quapropter 

tur  synagoga,  quia  mater  antiquata.  jam  ipse  est  spiritus  et  vita  suae  ecclesiae  et 

mortua  cum  reverentia  deduceretur  ad  se-  sui  corporis  mystici 

pulcrum.  3  Ad  quam  ipsum   solum   haberit  et  de- 

a  Jesus  est  solus,  qui  cum  patre  et  sane-  bent  habere  totaliter  suum  respectum. 
to   spiritu   toti  .ecclesiae  suae  et  cuilibet 


JANOW'S    WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET   N.    T.  211 

supposes  a  reference  to  some  principle."1  But  that  which  forms  the 
unity  of  the  church  is  the  one  God,  one  Lord,  one  Master,  one  religion, 
one  law,  one  commandment.2  "  All  christians  who  possess  the  spirit  of 
Jesus  the  crucified,  and  who  are  impelled  by  the  same  spirit,  and  who 
alone  have  not  departed  from  their  God,  are  the  one  church  of  Christ, 
his  beautiful  bride,  his  body  ;  and  they  are  not  of  this  world,  as  Christ 
is  not  of  this  world,  and  therefore  the  world  hates  them."  The  unity 
that  has  proceeded  from  Christ  he  places  in  contrast  with  those  antag- 
onisms among  men  and  nations  that  have  grown  out  of  their  apostasy 
from  God.  "  Difference  creates  the  differences  among  nations  and 
their  mutual  alienation  from  each  other,  just  as,  on  the  other  hand,  uni- 
ty in  the  acknowledgment  of  one  God  contributes  especially  to  bring 
about  unity  among  nations."  This  he  observes,  was  a  thing  well  un- 
derstood by  the  ancient  kings,  and  especially  by  the  Romans,  who  — 
which  is  undoubtedly  a  mistake  so  far  as  it  concerns  the  Romans  —  en- 
deavored to  bring  all  the  nations  which  they  subdued,  to  the  worship  of 
one  God  such  as  they  would  have  him  to  be.  Idolatry —  he  says  —  and 
apostasy  from  the  true  God,  is  not  now  merely  what  it  was  in  earlier 
periods,  gross  idolatry  in  the  proper  sense  ;  but  the  setting  up  of  an 
idol  in  the  mind  and  the  affections,  and  placing  such  an  idol  in  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  that  is,  to  love  the  present  world,  and  that 
which  is  in  the  world,  just  this  is  apostasy  from  God,  and  idolatry. 
"  Since  — he  says  —  it  is  already  the  day  of  light  and  of  truth  ;  since 
in  Jesus  Christ  the  supreme  God  has  already  come  so  near  to  men ; 
nay,  the  greatest  union  has  taken  place,  of  God  with  men  and  of  men 
with  God,  because  it  is  no  longer  God  afar  off,  but  a  God  near  at  hand, 
dwelling  even  now,  in  the  most  intimate  manner,  in  the  souls  that  are 
worthy  of  him  ;3  since  God  has  already  appeared  on  earth  and  walked 
with  men,  the  very  fact  that  christians  should  suffer  themselves  to  be 
engrossed  by  the  cares  of  this  world,  that  they  should  let  their  love 
and  their  imitation  be  directed  to  any  other  than  Jesus  Christ,  the  true 
God,  or  that  they  should  make  the  home  of  their  souls  in  this  world 
rather  than  in  the  Lord  their  God,  or  that  they  should  cling  with  their 
affections  more  to  the  world  than  to  Christ,  is  plainly  a  falling  away, 
an  apostasy  from  God  and  a  preference  for  idols  in  the  spirit  and  tem- 
per of  the  soul,  is  already  a  separation  from  union  with  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  a  becoming  incorporated  with  the  body  of  Antichrist,  of 
the  god  of  this  world."  Considering  the  matter  from  this  point  of 
view,  he  is  of  the  opinion,  that  what  St.  Paul  says  of  the  apostasy  of 
the  last  times,  might  already  be  applied  to  his  own  time.  He  says 
of  his  contemporaries :     "  They  would  attain  to  justification,  and  be- 

1  Universitas  dicitur  ab  uno  aliquo,  ad     unus  magistcr,  una  religio,  una  lex,  unura 
quod  omnia  supposita  universitatis  hahent     praeceptum. 

ordinem  et  attrihutionem,  ct  nisi  sit  tale  3  Quia  jam   est  dies  lucis  et  veritatis, 

unum  prineipale,  a  quo  reliqua  omnia  et  propinquitas    summi  dei    ad    homines    in 

tale  quid,  quod  possit  formare  de  multis  Christo  Jesu,  imo  unio   maxima  dei    ad 

uuiversitatem   et  eonservare,   non   unitas  homines  et  hominuni  cum  deo,  quia  jam 

Deque  universitas,  sed  dispersa  divcrsitas  foetus  est  non  deus  de  longinquo,  Bed  dens 

esset.  de  prope.  imo  deus  jam  intime  inhabitana 

2  IUud  vero  tale  unum,  faciens  unita-  animas  dignas  se. 
tem  ecelesiae  est  unus  deus,  unus  dominus, 


212  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

lieve  they  can  obtain  it  by  many  labors,  with  much  expense,  in  the  per- 
formance even  to  satiety,  of  all  the  newly  appointed  ceremonies  ;  and 
yet  Christ  is  become  to  their  hearts  as  one  dead ;  they  have  nothing 
of  his  spirit,  they  see  and  know  him  not.  Hence  they  perform  all 
their  isolated  works  according  to  the  letter,  and  in  a  spirit  of  fear  ac- 
cording to  the  law ;  but  they  know  nothing  of  the  true  liberty,  of  the 
freedom  which  is  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  Hence  they  appear  to 
be  little  if  at  all  different  from  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  among  the 
ancient  people  of  the  Jews,  on  whom  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  often  de- 
nounced wo ;  and  the  apostle  Paul  has  often  reproached  such  persons 
with  apostatizing  from  the  christian  faith.  And  all  Holy  Scripture,  all 
christian  faith  proclaims,  preaches  and  confesses,  that  Jesus  Christ  the 
crucified  alone  is  the  one  Saviour,  and  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteous- 
ness to  every  one  that  believeth  ;  that  he  alone  is  all  power,  all  wisdom 
for  every  christian,  he  himself  the  alpha,  the  beginning  and  the  end, 
and  that  every  one  who  is  longing  and  striving  to  be  a  just  and  virtu- 
ous man,  must  first  of  all  and  immediately  put  on  Christ  himself  and 
his  spirit,  because  he  is  himself  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life.  After 
him  alone,  first  of  all,  and  with  the  whole  heart,  we  should  seek ;  be- 
gin to  glorify  him  and  to  carry  him  in  our  souls,  who  alone  hath  re- 
deemed us  at  that  great  price,  his  precious  blood."  He  charges  it 
upon  his  contemporaries  that  when  they  separated  faith  from  works  in 
their  mistaken  search  after  self-righteousness,  they  substituted  in  place 
of  the  genuine  christian  morality,  a  morality  which  they  had  learned 
in  the  schools  of  ancient  philosophy.  "  Because  they  did  not  like  to 
retain  Christ  crucified  in  their  knowledge,  the  Son  of  God  gave  them 
over  to  a  reprobate  mind  (Rom.  1:  28),  to  expend  their  efforts  in 
building  up  their  own  righteousness  ;  and  they  think  they  shall  be  able 
to  attain  to  a  virtuous  life  after  the  methods  of  Aristotle,  of  Plato  and 
the  other  philosophers,  by  their  own  efforts  and  virtuous  habits."1  On 
the  basis  of  these  general  views  he  forms  his  conception  of  the  church 
in  its  true  sense,  as  a  community  taking  its  outward  form  from  a  prin- 
ciple within  itself,  by  its  common  reference  to  Christ ;  he  styles  the 
church  the  body  of  Christ,  the  community  of  the  elect.2  For  as  he 
makes  the  Augustinian  system  his  point  of  departure,  he  everywhere 
gives  special  prominence  to  the  antithesis  of  elect  and  non-elect. 
Placing  that  immediate  reference  of  the  religious  consciousness  to 
Christ  at  the  head,  he  is  forced,  even  though  he  leaves  the  entire  hie- 
rarchical system  untouched,  still  to  admit  those  consequences,  by  which 
the  hitherto  separating  wall  between  priests  and  laymen  must  be  bro- 
ken down,  the  idea  of  the  universal  priesthood  revived,  Christianity 
made  to  appear  as  a  principle  of  purification  from  all  that  is  of  the 

1  TJt  cum  magnis  laboribus  suorum  stu-  "Words  of  Janow  from  the  work  already 
diorum  velint  suam  justitiam  statuere,  et  cited  in  the  fragment  published  under  the 
per  omnia  ad  modum  Aristotelis  aut  Pla-  name  of  Huss,  cap.  10,  fol.  370,  p.  2.  A 
tonis  ceterorumque  philosophorum  se  pos-  similar  passage  is  also  found  in  the  work 
se  ad  vitam  virtuosam  pervenire  per  studia  which  has  not  as  yet  been  published  :  Ee- 
propria  et  virtutes  usuales.  clesia  electorum,  quae  proprie  et  solum  est 

2  Ecclesia  electorum  est  unicum  proprie  corpus  mysticum  Christi. 
et  solum  corpus  mysticum  Christi  Jesu. 


JANOW'S    WORK    DE    REGULIS    V.    ET   N.    T.  213 

world,  the  priestly  character  restored  to  the  entire  life,  and  the  dis- 
tinction of  an  inferior  and  a  higher  position  in  christian  life,  the  sever- 
ance of  the  consilia  and  the  prcecepta  done  away  with.     "  Every 
christian  —  says  he — is  already  an  anointed  man,  and  a  priest;" — 
where  he  refers  for  proof  to  the  well  known  passages  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament relating  to  this  point.     Attacking  from  this  position  the  over- 
valuation of  the  monastic  orders  and  denying  the  spiritual  superiority 
which  they  arrogated  to  themselves,  he  says,  "  there  are  many,  stand- 
ing in  the  opinion  of  the  multitude   at  the  very  summit  of  holiness  and 
of  christian  religion,  who  reply  to  those  inquiring  after  the  shortest  way 
to  salvation,  that  there  is  no  other  except  to  serve  Christ  after  a  per- 
fect manner  in  this  or  that  order  ;  so  certain  is  it  to  every  one,  that  a 
person  belonging  to  such  an  order  is  seldom  or  never  condemned,  and 
that  he  who  enters  such  an  order  is  as  speedily  delivered  from  all  pun- 
ishment and  guilt,  as  if  he  were  born  anew  of  water  and  the  Spirit. 
He  who  questions  this,  exposes  himself  to  an  irreconcilable  war."     He 
vigorously  attacks  this  opinion,  the  supposed  opposition  between  spir- 
ituals and  seculars.     "  It  is  evident,  that  to  style  christians  the  world 
and  seculars  is  a  calumnious  misrepresentation."     He  cites  the  words 
of  Christ  "  That  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit."     "  One  of  the 
greatest  trials  that  Christ's  chosen  can  meet  with  is  this,  that  when  a 
christian,  whatever  he  may  be,  man  or  woman,  virgin  or  widow,  is 
heartily  inclined  to  do  penance  for  his  or  her  sins,  and  to  serve  Jesus 
Christ  in  an  orderly  manner,  if  such  a  person  lives  in  the  midst  of  the 
christian  community,  and  thus  consecrates  his  life  to  Christ  with  a  view 
to  live  more  perfectly  in  the  simplicity  of  the  spirit,  and  for  suitable 
reasons  does  not  enter  one  of  those  monastic  orders,  he  must  at  once 
suffer  persecution  from  them  and  from  his  own  associates,  must  be 
looked  upon  as  a  heretic  and  be  called  by  the  vulgar  a  Beghard,  a 
Beguine,  a  Turlepinus,  or  by  some  such  reproachful  epithet.     Such  an 
one  must  be  called  up  and  put  on  trial,  to  determine  whether  he  is  a 
heretic."     From  this   and   similar  utterances    of   Matthias  we    find, 
what  is  confirmed  also  by  other  indications  in  the  history  of  these  times, 
that  those  who  distinguished  themselves  among  the  laity  by  a  more 
earnest  and  strict  piety  than  common,  and  more  especially  societies 
composed  of  such  persons,  were  very  sure  to  be  objects  of  jealousy,  to 
be  stigmatized  as  heretical,  and   persecuted  by  the  monastic  orders ; 
while  on  the  other  hand  they  were  derided  and  treated  with  abuse  by 
the  common  nominal  christians.     Beghards  was  a  nickname  applied 
in  the  same  way  at  that  time  as  Pietists  at  a  later  period,  by  an  ambi- 
tious clergy,  zealots  for  the  letter  of  orthodoxy,  and    by  the  vulgar 
people  of  the  world.     After  this,  Matthias  of  Janow  says,  "  Where- 
fore the  men  of  Christ,  who  live  in  the  midst  of  our  present  christians, 
must  either  enter  into  some  monastic  order,  or  else  do  their  works  of 
chanty  only  in  secret."     In  a  passage  where  he  places  the  laity  on  a 
par  with  ecclesiastics  as  to  their  title  to  daily  or  frequent  communion, 
of  which  we  shall  speak  more  particularly  hereafter,  he  says ;  "  Al- 
though the  priest  or  minister  of  the  church  has  precedence  over  the 
holy  laity  in  this,  that  it  belongs  to  him  to  offer,  to  consecrate  and  to 


214  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE.' 

distribute  the  body  of  Christ,  yet  they  are  equals  as  it  regards  the  en- 
joyment of  the  Holy  supper ;  and  although  'the  priest  has  a  nobler  and 
more  eminent  vocation  in  the  church  than  any  layman,  yet  every  lay- 
man who  in  a  right  and  holy  manner  fulfils  his  calling  or  his  service  in 
the  church,  is  alike  useful  to  the  priest  and  to  the  church,  because  at 
his   own    proper  position,  a  position  quite  as  necessary  for   Christ's 
body,  he  serves  Christ  in  his  vocation,  and  therefore  earns  from  him 
his  daily  bread,  if  he  does  but  live  just  as  uprightly  and  faithfully  to 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  as  long  as  he  perseveres,  as  he  should  do,  in  the 
vocation  to  which  God  has  called  him.     As  the  priest  singing,  pray- 
ing and  administering  the  sacraments  thereby  serves  our  common  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ,  and   is  therein  useful  to  the  church  ;  so  the  peasant  in 
ploughing,  and  pasturing  his   cattle,  as  long  as  he  stands  fast  in  the 
common  love,  serves  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  is  necessary  and  use- 
ful to  his  family  or  to  the  holy  church.     The  same  holds  good  of  other 
laymen  such  as  tradesmen  and  artisans  in  civil  society. i     For  as  it 
would  fare  ill  with  the  church  of  God  to  be  without  priests  or  soldiers, 
so  neither  could  she  dispense  with,  or  even  subsist  without,  peasants 
and  men  of  other  occupations.     As  the  manner  of  calling  and  the 
works  of  the  former  are  necessary,  so  too  are  the  various  callings  and 
works  of  the  latter.     And  as  the  calling  of  the  former  and  its  exercise 
comes  to  them  from  Jesus  Christ,  so  the  various  callings  and  employ- 
ments of  the  latter  have  come  from  God  and  Christ ;  the  calling  of 
the  latter  indeed  is  more  primitive  and  more  indispensable  than  that 
of  the  former,  since  the  occupation  and  practice  of  husbandry  and  of 
the  other  trades  existed  earlier  than  that  of  the  priest.     Countrymen 
and  soldiers  do  not  exist  for  the  sake  of  priests,  but  priests  for  the 
sake  of  the  peasantry  and  the  soldiers."     He  endeavors  to  show,  that 
the  term  saint  is  to  be  applied  to  every  christian,  whose  life  answers 
to  his  name,  although  there  are  different  degrees  in  the  application  of 
this  name,  as  there  are  in    progressive  sanctification.     "  The  term 
christian  —  he  remarks  —  denotes  a  man  sanctified  by  baptism,  which 
by  another  name  is  called  unction  ;  hence  the  christian  is  one  anointed. 
So  one  is  called  a  saint  in  virtue  of  that  sanctifying  grace,2  which  is 
realized   by   a   meritorious    life    and    the    virtues.     This    sanctifying 
grace,  however,  and  the  first  baptismal  grace  are  substantially  the 
same  ;  the  only  difference  being  that  sanctifying  grace  consists  in  the 
good  use  of  that  first  grace.s     And  thus  every  christian,  so  far  as  he 
is  such,  is  a  saint ;  since  he  has  been  sanctified  by  the  first  baptismal 
grace ;  just  as  every  saint  must,  by  reason  of  his  holy  walk  and  vir- 

1  Sicut  sacerdos  psallens  et  orans  atque  3  Nee  differt  in  alio,  nisi  quod  gratia 
saeramenta  administratis  per  hoc  servit  gratum  faciens  est  bonus  usus  gratiae  gra- 
commimi  domino  Jesu  Christo,  et  in  eo  tis  datae  seu  gratiae  primae.  When  St. 
est  utilis  ecclesiae,  ita  rusticus  arando  et  Paul  says  :  "  By  grace  I  am  what  I  am," 
sua  pecora  pascendo  manens  in  communi  he  makes  this  refer  to  that  objective  grace 
caritate  similiter  in  eo  ipso  optime  servit  which  may  be  used  in  different  ways  ac- 
Jesu  Christo,  et  est  utilis  et  necessarius  cording  to  the  different  bent  of  the  will 
ipsius  familiae  vel  ecclesiae  sacrosanctae,  the  gratia  gratis  data ;  but  when  St.  Paul 
et  ita  de  aliis  singulis  laicis  mechanicis  in  says :  "  and  this  grace  was  in  me  not  in 
republica.  vain,"  he  makes  this  refer  to  grace  in  the 

2  The  gratia  gratum  faciens.  second,  subjective  sense. 


JANOW'S    WORK      DE    REGULIS    V.  ET    N.    T.  215 

tues,  be  a  true  christian.  All  who  have  been  sanctified,  have  been 
sanctified  by  the  anointing  of  grace  and  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of 
Jesus ;  and  hence  it  follows,  that  every  christian  is  a  saint  and  every 
saint  a  christian  ;  and,  as  one  cannot  have  the  use  of  grace  without  its 
habit.,  so  one  cannot  be  a  christian  and  at  the  same  time  not  a  saint. 
Do  not  object  to  me  the  bad  christians,  who  have  lost  the  first  grace 
by  reason  of  their  misuse  of  it ;  for  these  are  not  christians  —  save  as 
the  term  is  improperly  understood  —  any  more  than  the  painted  figure 
of  a  man  is  a  man.  But  if  you  object  that  the  baptismal  sign  and  the 
fides  informis  are  to  be  found  even  in  bad  christians,  and  that  this  is 
enough  to  entitle  one  to  the  name  of  christian,  I  answer,  that  the 
mere  sign,  if  the  grace  be  not  present,  is  not  enough  either  to  make 
one  a  christian  or  to  entitle  one  to  the  name  of  christian  ;"  where  he 
introduces  the  following  comparison :  "  A  hoop  hung  out  before  a 
house  (this  in  Bohemia  must  have  been  the  sign  of  an  inn)  still  does 
not  make  the  place  an  inn,  if  there  is  no  wine  in  the  house."  Those, 
he  supposes,  who  merely  made  profession  of  Christianity,  with  whom  it 
was  no  more  than  an  outward  mask,  their  lives  testifying  against  their 
profession,  deserved  rather  to  be  called  antichristians  than  christians. 
But  though  every  christian  is  a  saint,  every  christian  is  not  equally  so  ; 
but  there  are  different  degrees  of  holiness  among  a  christian  people. 
"  While  man  remains  in  the  present  life,  the  way  of  progress  in  holy 
living  is  ever  open  before  him,  this  entire  life  being  either  a  progres- 
sion or  a  retrogression."  He  attacks  here  those  mystical  Beghards, 
condemned  in  the  year  1311  at  the  council  of  Vienne,  who  held  that 
man  may  in  the  present  life,  reach  the  stage  of  perfection,  that  he 
may  become  absolutely  sinless,  so  as  to  be  incapable  of  further  prog- 
ress in  grace  ;  arguing  that  if  continual  progress  were  possible,  one 
might  become  more  perfect  than  Christ.  Now  he  supposes  that  though 
degrees  of  progressive  development  infinitely  different  are  conceiva- 
ble, yet  the  fathers  have  distinguished  three  principal  stages ;  that  of 
beginners,  that  of  the  progressive,  and  that  of  the  perfect ;  or  the 
married,  widows  and  virgins.  He  rebukes  the  pride  of  the  clergy. 
Did  a  man  offend  a  clergyman,  the  bolt  of  excommunication  was  point- 
ed at  him  forthwith ;  but  did  he  injure  a  layman,  the  wrong  doer  es- 
caped with  impunity.  "  By  the  just  judgment  of  God  we  are  —  says 
he  —  fallen  like  Lucifer."  In  the  contempt  poured  upon  the  clergy, 
that  is,  he  recognizes  a  merited  divine  judgment.  So  in  animadvert- 
ing upon  the  false  distinction  of  spirituals  and  seculars,  and  hierar- 
chical self-conceit,  while  he  gives  distinct  prominence  to  that  fellowship 
of  the  community  of  saints  which  excludes  every  selfish  feeling,  he 
remarks  :  This  union  cannot  be  restored,  unless  those  are  first  exclu- 
ded, who  are  sunk  in  self-love,  and  in  place  of  them  the  number  of 
those  is  multiplied  who  are  zealous  for  that  union  of  the  church,  ami 
which  is  still  more,  who  serve  the  cause  of  Christ  rather  than  their 
own  interests.  He  points  not  only  at  such  as  sought  their  own  advan- 
tage in  earthly  things,  but  at  those  too,  who  in  the  spiritual  life  made 
their  own  interest  alone  the  end,  far  removed  from  that  love  to  com- 
mon  Christendom  consisting  of   the  perfect  and    the   imperfect,  the 


216  HISTORY    OF    TIIEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

righteous  and  the  weak.     They,  he  says,  who  begin  with  despising 
the  common  manners  of  their  fellow-christians,  who  begin  with  extoll- 
ing in  particular  their  own  societies  and  brotherhoods,  as  compared 
with  others,  mar  by  this  course  the  unity  of  the  christian  church  and 
disturb  christian  peace.     They  begin  by  thinking  highly  of  themselves 
and  would  exalt  themselves  above  the  common  mass  of  christians,  hold 
themselves  to  be  the  only  spirituals  and  apostolicals,  and  call  the  great 
mass  of  other  christians  Babylon  and  the  world  ;  they  pretend  that 
they  alone  fulfil  the  counsels  of  Christ,  that  the  people  neither  can  at- 
tain nor  ought  to  attain  the  same  perfection.     Nor  is  it  necessary  to 
salvation ;  they  are  only  bound  to  it  by  their  vows.     Thus  from  the 
position  which  he  uniformly  maintains,  the  great  principle  of  the  one- 
ness of  the  christian  life,  Matthias  of  Janow  carries  on  his  attacks 
against  the  false  distinction  of  clericals  and  seculars,  and  at  the  same 
time  against  a  distinction  grounded  upon  the  same  views,  which  had 
stood  good  for  so  many  centuries,  and  had  been  adopted  by  the  scho- 
lastic theology  into  the  concatenation  of  its  system,  whereby  it  was 
more  firmly  established,  the  distinction  of  consilia  and  prcecepta.     Af- 
ter the  words  above  cited  he  remarks,  "  applying  all  this  to  themselves 
alone  and  excluding  the  people,  they  set  up  themselves  as  objects  of 
the  greatest  veneration,  thereby  promoting  in  the  rest  of  the  people 
great  freedom  of  the  flesh,  the  relaxation  of  all  christian  discipline, 
and  great  self-deception  on  the  part  of  the  simple,  who  plead  in  ex- 
cuse of  themselves,  we  are  worldly  people,  living  in  the  flesh  ;  we  may 
be  permitted  to  have  this  or  that."    And  if  there  happen  to  be  in  christ- 
ian communities  persons  who  seek  to  reach,  according  to  their  mea- 
sure, evangelical  perfection  in  their  mode  of  life,  as  poverty,  chastity, 
obedience  to  their  spiritual  superiors,  the  other  ordinary  christians  will 
soon  persecute  them."     He  illustrates  this  by  the  same  facts  which 
we  have  noticed  already,  that  the  monks  from  jealousy  persecuted  such 
persons  under  the  name  of  Begharcls  and  Beguines,  telling  them  that 
if  they  wanted  to  lead  a  life  of  that  sort  they  should  become  monks. 
What  have  you  to  do  with  the  world  ?     What  have  you  in  common 
with  the  people  of  the  world  ?     "  Hence  it  comes  about  that  among 
the  common  laity,  no  pious  people  are  to  be  found."   He  complains  that 
those  who  were  devout  among  the  laity  were  suspected  ;  and  yet  they 
were  best  qualified  by  word  and  example  to  advance  and  confirm  the 
progress  of  others.     And  since  such  saints  were  the  people's  neigh- 
bors, were  regarded  by  them  as  equals  with  whom  they  associated  in 
the  daily  business  of  life,  they  might  easily  provoke  imitation  in  every 
thing ;  which  could  not  happen  in  the  case  of  the  monks,  who  stood  so 
far  apart  from  the  people  in  their  calling,  and  in  their  modes  and  hab- 
its of  life.1     The  conduct  of  these  devout  people  being  looked  upon 
by  the  others  with  suspicion,  carnal  and  lukewarm  christians  were  led 
to  cherish  the  delusion,  that  it  was  well  with  them ;  in  spite  of  their 

1  Et  quia  per  id,  quod  sunt  tales  sancti,  vel  possunt  esse  in  monachis  et  religiosis, 

vulgo  intimo  propinqui  pares  in  vita  et  qui  extant  nimis  longinqui  in  vita  sua  et 

commixti  in  contubernio,    imitabiles    fa-  professione  a  plebibus. 
ciiiter  in  omnibus,  quae  nequaquara  sunt 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET   N.    T.  217 

worldly  and  lukewarm  affections  they  still  thought  themselves  sure  of 
salvation,  observing  that  all  who  sought  to  live  godly  lives  among  the 
christian  people  were  despised  by  the  monks.  They  were  flattered  in 
this  their  delusion  by  citations  from  scripture,falsely  interpreted.  He 
gives  the  following  as  an  example  :  "  There  is  no  better  thing  than  to 
lead  a  moderate  life,  and  not  to  differ  too  much  from  the  rest  of  the 
world ;  for  no  men  are  worse  than  those  who  would  be  righteous  over- 
much." 

With  this  zeal  in  maintaining  the  universal  priesthood  of  the  faithful, 
the  equality  of  Christian  worth  and  dignity  in  all  orders  and  profes- 
sions, Matthias  united  the  deepest  interest  in  another  object,  one  which 
then  formed  a  weighty  point  of  controversy  between  the  different  par- 
ties concerned,  the  question  relating  to  the  frequent  or  daily  commu- 
nion of  laymen.  While  in  the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  Catholic 
church  of  France,  it  was  thought  an  indication  of  greater  Christian  se- 
riousness, greater  zeal  fortrue  conversion,  to  invite  laymen  to  abstain 
for  a  while  from  the  communion,  in  order  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
more  worthy  participation  of  it,  and  avoid  the  mistake  of  using  it  as  an 
opus  operatum,  the  case  seems  to  have  been  exactly  reversed  in  the 
period  of  which  we  are  speaking.  The  party  who  were  most  zealous 
to  awaken  the  laity  and  promote  their  Christian  advancement,  of  whom 
Matthias  of  Janow  may  be  considered  a  representative,  were  urgent 
for  inviting  the  laity  to  this  frequent  participation,  inasmuch  as  this 
sacrament  was  the  best  means  for  promoting  Christian  growth,  for  ex- 
citing and  strengthening  faith  :  but  the  opposite  party  feared  lest  the 
laity  should  be  put  on  a  level  with  the  clergy.  Matthias  of  Janow  took 
the  liveliest  interest  in  this  controversy.  He  was  ever  falling  back  up- 
on it,  and  indeed  wrote  a  paper  on  the  subject,  which  is  incorporated 
in  the  greater  work  already  mentioned.  The  stamp  of  his  whole  peculiar 
Christian  bent  is  impressed  upon  these  polemical  transactions  ;  and  it 
deserves  to  be  noticed  that  he  uniformly  expresses  himself  as  if  he 
thought  the  laity  also  were  entitled  to  partake  of  the  communion  in  both 
kinds.  Many  of  the  arguments  which  he  adduces,  admit  of  being 
equally  applied  to  show  that  the  laity  may  partake  of  the  cup  as  well 
as  of  the  bread,  and  ought  not,  in  this  respect,  to  be  placed  lower  than 
the  clergy  ;  and  we  cannot  doubt,  that  the  recognition  of  the  equal 
right  of  the  laity  in  this  matter  also,  lay  at  the  bottom,  as  he  every- 
where tacitly  assumes  it.  "  It  is  —  says  he  —  doing  God  and  Christ 
the  greatest  wrong,  for  one  to  deny  himself  or  others  the  frequent  par- 
taking of  the  body  of  Christ."  He  assumes  that  God,  who  in  the 
highest  sense  belongs  to  all,  and  is  in  the  highest  sense  good,  and  inca- 
pable of  any  respect  to  persons,  must  take  delight  in  all  who  are  wil- 
ling to  receive  him.1  He  cites  the  passages,  where  Christ  invites  men 
to  his  fellowship.  He  appeals  to  the  analogy  of  the  Old  Testament,  to 
the  daily  sacrifice,  which  corresponded  to  the  Lord's  supper  ;2  here, 
too,  were  bread  and  wine,  just  as  both  must  be  together  in  the  holy 

1  Quia  dcus  summe  communis  et  sum-     in  omnibus,  qui  eum  suscipiunt,  vult  de- 
me  bonus  sine  acceptatione  personarum,    lectari.  Thejuge  sacrirtcium. 

TOL.    V.  19 


218  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

supper.1  He  complains  that,  in  his  time,  this  daily  sacrifice  had  ceased, 
as  the  vain  people  had  generally,  or  for  the  most  part,  forsaken  the 
daily  or  frequent  enjoyment  of  the  supper,  and  approached  it  but  once, 
or  hardly  once  in  a  year  ;  and  then,  in  the  case  of  many,  it  was  done 
not  from  devotion,  but  only  from  hypocrisy,  or  a  sort  of  constraint, 
which  each  laid  on  himself  ;  and  it  was  already  looked  upon  as  an 
abuse,  to  be  always  participating  in  the  Lord's  supper.  There  had 
arisen  a  Judaizing  set,  who  tried  to  dissuade  the  people  from  the  prac- 
tice of  daily  communion.  He  declaims  against  priests  so  destitute  of 
all  love  towards  the  Christian  people,3  who  cruelly  kept  away  the  hun- 
gry and  thirsty  flock  from  provisions  which  were  their  own,3  and  who 
set  themselves  to  oppose  others  who  took  delight  in  feeding  the  poor. 
He  reminds  his  opponents  of  Gamaliel's  language  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.  The  effects  of  frequent  communion  among  the  laity  were 
appealed  to  in  defence  of  the  practice  and  as  a  proof  that  the  thing  was 
of  God.  In  those  priests  who  exhorted  the  people  to  frequent  commu- 
nion, he  sees  true  Christian  love  ;  and  speaks  of  their  animating  influ- 
ence on  the  laity.  Desire  for  the  frequent  enjoyment  of  the  commu- 
nion, he  said,  was  on  the  increase  among  the  laity  ;  and  it  would  con- 
tinue to  rise  higher  in  proportion  to  the  fervency  of  devotion  among  the 
Christian  people.  We  here  meet  with  a  remark  relating  to  the  incipi- 
ent renovation  of  the  religious  life,  which  deserves  notice.  "  It  is 
already  well  known  —  he  says  —  that  the  spirit  of  devotion  and  the 
glow  of  charity  is  reviving  among  the  communities,  and  the  words  of 
our  sermons  rise  to  life  again,  because  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  works  in 
them."  He  repels  the  insinuation,  that  the  celebration  of  mass,  in  which 
all  partook  spiritually,  the  spiritual  participation  of  the  Lord's  supper 
in  faith,  is  enough.  It  might  suffice  for  an  angel,  but  not  for  men, 
composed  of  soul  and  body.  If  that  were  true,  there  was  no  need  of 
the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  institution  of  the  holy  supper  it- 
self would  be  superfluous.  He  who  voluntarily  deprives  himself  of  the 
bodily  enjoyment  of  the  holy  supper,  deserves  also  to  be  deprived  of 
the  spiritual  enjoyment  of  it.  "  For  —  says  he  —  the  experience  of 
every  year  teaches,  that  they  who  come  to  the  communion  but  once  a 
year,  or  but  seldom,  do  for  the  most  part  fail  also  to  participate  in  the 
res  sacramenti ;  for  such  persons  come  to  the  ordinance  in  the  spirit 
of  bondage,  and  remain  strangers  to  the  holy  joy,  the  sober  bliss  of  the 
spirit  of  Christ."  4  They  show  it  by  this,  that  they  look  forward  to  that 
day  and  that  hour  in  a  spirit  of  slavish  fear,  instead  of  hailing  it  with 
joy.  They  are  only  driven  to  the  observance  by  the  custom  of  their 
church  and  the  prescription  of  their  teachers  ;  and  they  rejoice  when 
the  season  is  over,  and  do  not  wish  for  its  return,  thinking  they  are 
now  free  to  live  as  they  list.    They  who  esteemed  themselves  unworthy, 

1  Propter  quotidianam  frequentiam  et    borare,  sine  foedere,  sine  pia  ad  populum 
propter  dualitatem  utriusque  speciei,  panis     affectione. 

et  vini,  a  quibus  hoc  sacrificium  integra-  *  Plebejis  esurientibus  et  sitientibus  sa- 

tur.     Here  we   may  perceive  that  the  ne-  um  cibum  et  potum  crudeliter  denegant. 

cessity  of  the  two  kinds  is  expressly  as-  4  Accedunt  enim  timore   servili,  et  in 

sumed.  nullo  tales  gustant  spirituale  gaudium  vel 

2  Impii,  qui  refugiunt,  cum  plebibus  la-  aliquid  dulccdinis  spiritus  Jesu. 


JANOW'S    WORK  DE   REGULIS  V.    ET   N.   T.  219 

and  abstained  from  the  communion  through  humility,  should  be  encour- 
aged the  more  ;  because  they  truly  humbled  themselves,  they  were 
worthy  of  being  exalted  by  God.  Christ  came- to  bring  down  the  lofty, 
and  lift  up  the  lowly.  He  thinks  that  as  worldly  priests  cared  nothing 
for  the  laity,  and  never  invited  them  to  the  frequent  enjoyment  of  the 
holy  supper,  it  would  be  no  rashness  in  the  latter  to  demand  the  en- 
joyment of  this  bread  which  was  meant  for  them.  He  refers  to  Christ's 
words  :  He  that  is  not  with  me,  is  against  me  ;  he  that  gathereth  not 
with  me,  scattereth  abroad.  But  that  man  is  not  with  Jesus,  who, 
though  bound  to  do  so,  yet  neglects  to  provide  for  the  salvation  of  those 
souls  that  seemed  placed  in  his  way.  Was  it  objected,  that  the  dig- 
nity of  the  priests  would  suffer  by  so  doing,  he  would  answer :  "  The 
man  who  speaks  thus  plainly  evinces  that  he  is  a  man  actuated  by  a  zeal 
that  is  without  knowledge,  for  he  censures  as  an  impropriety,  what  he 
would  certainly  wish  to  take  place  if  he  were  animated  by  the  good 
Spirit  of  God."  He  appeals  to  the  words  of  Moses,  who  wished  that 
all  might  be  prophets.  But  these,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  envy,  would  be 
lords.  When  they  complained  of  the  zeal  of  the  laity  to  enjoy  frequent 
communion,  they  resembled  the  Jews  who  said,  "  Perceive  ye  how  ye 
prevail  nothing  ?  behold,  the  world  has  gone  after  him  !  "  (John  12  : 
19.)  He  affirms  that  many  of  the  laity  were  not  inferior  in  virtue,  in 
meritorious  works,  in  love  of  the  sacraments,  to  the  priests  ;  it  was 
here  also  true  that  soldiers,  harlots,  and  publicans  went  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  before  the  scribes  and  pharisees.  Though  laymen  should 
partake  daily  of  the  Lord's  supper,  yet  they  would  not  for  this  reason  be 
placed  on  a  level  with  the  priests  ;  for  the  laity  would  still  be  the  peo- 
ple, and  the  priests  would,  by  virtue  of  their  calling,  still  be  set  over 
them.  If,  they  said,  The  priests  would  be  less  reverenced,  the  direct 
contrary  would  prove  to  be  the  fact,  because  the  people,  in  the  case 
supposed,  would  be  more  attached  to  their  priests,  would  cling  to  them 
more  closely  as  they  received  from  them  greater  benefits  and  more  fre- 
quently, as  the  sheep  cluster  around  their  shepherds  from  whom  they 
receive  their  food  ;  so  because  the  priests  would  be  compelled  to  labor 
more  for  their  communities,  to  hear  their  confessions,  and  to  bestow  on 
them  the  sacrament,  whence  would  naturally  spring  up  greater  love 
and  gratitude  towards  them  ;  and  because  this  love  in  them  would  be  re- 
newed, the  Lord  being  in  the  midst  of  those  gathered  together  in  his 
name,  he  who  produces  in  the  hearts  of  subjects  the  obedience  due  to 
their  superiors  ;  and  because  it  is  the  first  and  most  excellent  fruit  of 
this  sacrament  to  bind  the  church  (which  is  Christ's  body)  and  its 
members,  each  in  its  own  place,  with  Christ.  Such  was  the  power  of 
this  sacrament  to  make  the  multitude  of  the  people  one.  It  was  now 
objected  that  the  case  of  priests  differed  from  that  of  laymen  ;  because 
priests  were,  by  their  office,  obliged  continually  to  hold  mass  ;  hence 
the/  were  the  more  excusable  if  they  were  not  always  prepared  to  par- 
take worthily  of  the  supper.  To  this  he  replies  :  they  sinned  not  the 
less,  but  far  more  by  their  unworthy  participation,  because  the  charac- 
ter, the  position  and  calling  of  unworthy  priests,  were  a  great  griev- 
ance.    He  attacks  those  famous  men  who  had  taught  in  their  writings 


220  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

that  women  in  particular  ought  to  be  discouraged  from  frequent  com- 
munion ;  he  opposes  to  them  the  Christian  principle  that  all  such  dis- 
tinctions are  annulled  in  the  new  creation ;  as  it  is  said,  One  Father, 
one  Spirit,  one  faith,  one  Lord,  one  baptism  for  all.  Weakness  was  no 
reason  for  such  exclusion  ;  for  God  had  chosen  tb.3  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mightj.  He  next  speaks  against 
the  prohibition  put  forth  probably  in  the  year  1889,  by  the  synod  of 
Prague,  against  the  frequent  communion  of  the  laity  ; x  and  remarks  : 
"  Those  modern  hypocrites,  doctors  and  prelates,  who  live  without  God, 
know  not  what  they  are  about,  and  what  sort  of  an  ordinance  the  con- 
tinual sacrifice  of  the  Lord  in  the  church  is."  It  was  so  called,  not  be- 
cause the  priests  continually  celebrated  and  enjoyed  it,  but  because  the 
holy  church  offers  and  enjoys  it  in  common.  He  appeals  to  Christ's 
words,  which  are  addressed  to  all  :  Take  and  eat.  He  retorts  the  ob- 
jection drawn  from  the  words  of  the  apostle  Paul  respecting  unworthy 
participation.  The  apostle  does  not  discourage  Christians  generally 
from  daily  partaking  of  the  holy  supper,  but  the  unworthy,  that  they 
might  make  themselves  worthy  of  it,  and  take  more  pains  to  sanctify 
themselves  for  it.  He  admonishes  them ;  he  does  not  dissuade,  but 
teaches  in  what  way  they  ought  to  present  and  enjoy  this  sacrament. 

On  this  subject  Matthias  of  Janow  composed  an  express  treatise  in 
the  form  of  a  letter.  He  explains  why  he  complied  with  his  friend's 
invitation  that  he  should  write  something  on  the  matter  in  question. 
"  For  — says  he  —  I  bethink  me  thou  must  be  concerned  for  the  welfare 
of  thy  neighbors,  and  especially  of  the  common  people,  since  thou  art 
desirous  they  should  all  be  more  often  united  to  Christ  by  partaking 
of  his  precious  body  and  blood ;  which  certainly  must  come  from  thy 
good  heart  through  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  for  I  was  also  inci- 
ted to  write  something  on  this  subject  by  the  false  zeal  of  some."  He 
then  mentions  the  various  motives  and  reasons  which  influenced  those 
who  opposed  the  daily  communion  of  the  laity.  "  Some  —  he  says 
—  carry  an  outward  show  of  zeal  for  the  Lord,  yet  not  with  knowl- 
edge ;  and  they  pretend  that  they  would  thereby  preserve  the  reve- 
rence which  is  due  to  the  sacrament.  "  These  —  he  says  —  entertain 
ing  too  carnal  views  of  the  sacrament,  fear  where  there  is  no  reason  for 
fear,  lest  our  Lord  Jesus  should  suffer  anew,  in  this  sacrament,  some 
violence,  or  contempt,  or  injury  ;  whereas  our  Lord  having  once  died, 
death  hath  no  more  power  over  him  in  any  way  ;  for,  in  giving  his  now 
spiritual  body,  which  is  no  longer  capable  of  suffering,  to  the  whole 
world  and  to  each  individual,  richly  to  enjoy,  he  nevertheless  suffers  no 
change  in  himself.  They  evince  their  sympathy  with  the  Lord  Jesus 
too  foolishly  in  this,  that  they  are  so  hard  towards  their  neighbors. 
They  are  cruel  towards  the  members  of  Christ.  Those  foolish  and  un- 
faithful servants,  who  are  set  over  but  a  few  things,  are  friends  to  those 
who  lead  bad  lives,  and  by  their  bad  lives  every  day  throw  contempt 
on  the  sacrament,  and  they  favor  their  party.  Others  fear  to  extend 
this  sacrament  to  the  people,  lest  they  should  hazard  the  safety  of  their 

1  See  further  on  p.  233. 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.  ET  N.  T.  221 

own  souls."  Christ,  however,  had  presented  the  sacrament  to  the  un- 
worthy Judas,  and  the  church  had  never  decreed  that  any  not  un- 
worthy could  be  kept  back  from  the  enjoyment  of  the  holy  supper. 
He  argues,  on  the  other  hand,  that  even  though  the  laity  should  par- 
take of  the  communion  but.  once  a-year,  there  might  still  be  many 
among  them  unworthy.  Others  —  says  he  —  do  not  enter  upon  any 
such  arguments,  but  contend  only  from  love  of  strife  and  the  heat  of 
passion,  against  the  frequent  communion  of  the  laity.  He  next  men- 
tions those  who  proudly  despised  the  poor  among  the  people,  and  were 
afraid  that  by  frequent  communion  they  would  be  put  too  much  on  a 
level  with  themselves.1  He  quotes  some  of  their  characteristic  language: 
'"  Those  Beghards  and  Beguins  are  striving  hard  to  put  themselves  on 
a  level  with  the  priests."  He  says  of  them :  "  They  desire  not  to 
know  that  to  all  Christ's  faithful  it  has  been  said,  Ye  are  a  royal  priest- 
hood ;"  and  he  brings  up  the  passages  referring  to  this  point  in  the 
Apocalypse.  In  attacking  the  wall  of  separation  erected  by  the  hie- 
rarchy between  clergy  and  laity,  and  bringing  distinctly  up  to  notice 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  among  laymen,  he  does  not  forget  to  apply 
the  same  principles  of  reasoning  also  to  the  female  sex.  He  notices  the 
fact  that,  in  his  time,  there  were  women  of  distinguished  piety,  whose 
lives  presented  a  strong  contrast  to  the  corrupt  world.  "  As  before, 
—  he  says  —  in  comparing  laymen  with  monks  and  priests,  it  was  re- 
remarked  that  our  Lord  having  rejected  the  wise  of  this  world  on  ac- 
count of  their  pride  and  hypocrisy,  would  the  more  abundantly  reveal 
his  salvation  to  the  little  ones  among  the  people ;  so,  in  comparing 
men  and  women,  something  similar  might  be  said  with  regard  to  the 
recipiency  of  the  latter  for  the  gifts  of  Christ.  Whereas  men  commonly, 
at  the  present  time,  conscious  of  their  natural  gifts,  do  not  know  how  to 
humble  themselves  and  to  bear  the  reproach  of  Christ ;  or  if  they  have 
the  advantage  in  some  gifts  of  grace,  directly  ascribe  it,  in  their  self- 
complacency,  to  efforts  of  their  own,  and  so  do  not  prove  loyal  to  the 
"Lord  Jesus  Christ;  therefore  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  forsaking  such  men, 
transfers  his  treasures  to  women  ;  for  he  has  chosen  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty  (1  Cor. 
1:  27).  And  hence  women  are  to  be  found  in  these  times,  virgins  and 
widows,  who  zealously  do  penance,  hasten  to  the  holy  sacraments,  and 
take  the  kingdom  of  God  before  the  men,  who  are  occupied  with 
the  vanities  of  this  world.  Hence  we  may  observe,  how  the  ordinarv 
women  fill  the  churches  at  prayers,  occupy  the  seats  at  sermons, 
present  themselves  before  the  priests  for  confession,  seem  to  be  full  of 
sobs  and  teaVs,  receive  daily,  in  constant  devotion  and  with  joy,  the 
holy  supper,  forsake  the  pomp  of  the  world  together  with  its  pleasures, 
are  ever  abounding  in  love  to  Christ,  ever  thinking  on  the  cause  of  the 
Lord,  and  joyfully  and  thankfully  receiving  manifestations  and  visions 
of  the  Lord.  Thus  the  women  are  a  hundred  fold  more  rich  in  spirit- 
ual blessings,  in  these  times,  than  the  men."     He  then  refers  to  the 

1  Hi  sunt,  qui  ferme  qucmlibet  de  plebe    plebeios  audaciter  nuneupando. 
di-dignantur,  bestias  et  Ribaldos  pauperes 

19* 


222  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

examples  of  Hildegard,  of  Brigitt  in  Sweden,  and  of  many  other  women 
whom  he  had  known  in  Paris,  Rome,  and  Nuremberg,1  and  of  still  more 
in  Prague  ;  "and  how  I  admired  the  Lord  Jesus  in  his  works."2 
"  They  —  says  he  —  who  admire,  the  rich  men  of  this  world  because 
they  can  gain  a  good  deal  out  of  them,  are  priests  to  whose  eyes  the 
mighty  monarch  of  this  world  appears  as  one  to  be  feared  and  reve- 
renced, even  though  he  be  a  man  of  crime,  but  who  abuse  and  despise 
them  that  fear  God.  When  a  rich  man  comes  to  such,  and  asks  them 
to  hear  his  confession,  or  to  offer  him  the  sacraments,  0  how  readily 
and  cheerfully  do  they  bestow  them  on  him.  But  when  the  poor  of  the 
flock  beg  them  to  hear  their  confessions  and  give  them  the  communion, 
they  do  it  with  difficulty  and  after  long  delay,  and  as  if  they  were  tired 
of  the  business  ;  but  if  they  demand  the  sacraments  of  the  church  re- 
peatedly, these  men  begin  to  mutter  that  they  give  them  the  headache, 
or  to  complain  that  they  take  up  too  much  of  their  time,  and  finally 
the  poor  are  repelled  away,  not  without  signs  of  impatience."  He  main- 
tains that  "  every  Christian  to  whom'the  frequent  or  daily  spiritual  par- 
ticipation of  the  body  of  Christ  is  granted,  will  also  be  in  a  suitable 
frame  for  the  frequent  or  daily  enjoyment  of  the  communion,  because 
he  who  is  worthy  of  that  which  is  granted  only  to  the  holy,  is  also 
worthy  of  that  which  is  granted  alike  to  the  bad  and  the  good. 
This  spiritual  participation  through  devotion  and  faith,  is  a  thing 
which  God  alone  produces  in  man ;  as  Christ  himself  says :  It  is  the 
spiiit  that  maketh  alive,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing.  But  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  holy  supper,  which  serves  to  the  increase  of  grace  in 
those  who  worthily  partake,  the  minister  of  the  church  is  the  cooperat- 
ing agent."  Again :  "  What  the  Holy  Ghost  has  wrought  in  a  human 
soul,  no  man  should  destroy.  But  the  fervor  of  devotion  is  what  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  wrought,  and  hence  the  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
the  frequent  enjoyment  of  the  Lord's  supper.  For  assuredly  this 
thirsting  after  the  sacrament,  which  arises  from  the  devotion  of  faith, 
is  itself  a  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  he  cites  the  words  of  Christ 
in  which  he  invites  every  one  that  thirsteth  to  himself.  "  This  thirsting 
—  he  observes  —  is  certainly  one  way  in  which  the  Father  draweth  to 
the  Son.  This  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  this  drawing  of  the  Father  to 
the  Son,  is  what  he  would  destroy  who  presumes  in  any  way  what- 
ever to  forbid  it."  Referring  to  the  words  of  St.  Peter  in  Acts  10  : 
47,  he  finely  remarks :  "  Who  will  dare  refuse  the  bodily  sacrament  to 
those,  on  whom  the  spiritual  grace  has  been  bestowed  by  God  him- 
self? Hence  it  follows,  certainly,  that  every  Christian  who  has  that 
faith  in  Christ,  which  works  by  love,  may  often  worthily  receive  the 
body  of  Christ ;  every  one  who  believingly  attends  mass,  and  who 
devoutly,  with  heart  and  lips,  confesses  himself  a  sinner,  is  worthy  of 
it,  and  it  is  for  his  benefit  (that  he  should  partake  at  the  mass  of  the 

1  We  are  here  reminded  that  Nurem-  was  some  connection  between  the  Friends 

berg  was  a  seat  of  the  Friends  of  God,  and  of  God  in  this  district  and  the  Friends  of 

of  Margaret  Ebnerin  and  her  connection  reform  in  Bohemia. 

with  Henry  of  Nordlingen.    Vid.  Herman-  2  See  Jordan,  Vorlaufer  des  Hussiten- 

ni  Opuscula  pag.  331  sq.    Perhaps  there  thums  in  Bohmen.  S.  62. 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET   N.    T.  223 

body  of  Christ."  But  few,  and  those  notorious  sinners,  should  be 
excluded  from  the  communion ;  as  for  example,  adulterers,  harlots, 
usurers.  But  such  persons  when  excluded  should  be  publicly  named ; 
so  that  the  faithful  may  understand  that  no  fellowship  is  to  be  had 
with  such  in  the  sacraments,  and  avoid  the  contagions  of  their  bad 
example.  They  too  who  give  public  scandal  by  their  vices  ought,  on 
every  Sunday  to  be  publicly  and  solemnly  named,  and  debarred  from 
the  sacraments.1  He  places  in  the  same  class  such  as  go  indecently 
or  too  extravagantly  dressed,  which  is  an  evident  mark  of  pride,  so 
that  no  reasonable  ground  of  excuse  can  be  offered  for  it.  He  refers 
to  an  ordinance  relating  to  this  matter  put  forth  by  the  archbishop  of 
Prague,s  and  to  another  by  Pope  Urban  VI,  the  promulgation  of 
which  had  been  witnessed  by  himself  during  his  residence  in  Italy." 
He  affirms  that  beginners  and  those  moving  forward  in  the  christian 
life  stand  in  more  need  of '  the  sacraments  than  the  perfect,  for  in- 
stance the  saints  in  bliss.  He  compares  the  communication  of  Christ 
in  the  holy  supper  with  milk  offered  to  babes.  Thus  the  incarnate 
Word  lets  himself  down  to  man's  wants  and  weaknesses,  mystically 
communicating  himself  to  them  under  the  outward  forms  of  bread  and 
wine.4  Thus  it  happens  that  the  believer,  who  partakes  only  of  bread 
and  wine,  and,  by  this  act  in  itself  considered,  experiences  no  spiritual 
enjoyment,  but  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  forms  of  bread  and  wine 
only  with  his  senses,  cannot  fail  by  earnest  striving  to  attain  to  such  a 
frame  as  to  imbibe  the  sweet  spirit  of  devotion  into  his  inmost  soul, 
and  to  taste  and  see  how  good  the  Lord  is ; 5  and  thus  he  is  nourished 
and  strengthened  and  refreshed  in  spirit.  This  is,  for  mankind,  a 
rock ;  a  rock  of  refreshment  for  him  to  whom  it  has  been  given  to 
suck  honey  out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock :  a  flinty 
rock  to  carnal  minded  men,  who  perceive  not,  in  this  venerable  sacra- 
ment, the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  "  and  for  this  reason  they  lightly 
esteem  it,  and  take  no  pains  to  secure  the  frequent  enjoyment  of  it ; 
they  make  no  haste  to  this  holy  supper."  It  is  the  flintiest  rock  to 
the  Jews  and  the  Greeks,  to  him  who  believes  not,  and  says,  How  can 
this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?  (John  vi).  "  But  to  us,  who  are 
in  Christ  Jesus,  and  believe  God,  and  in  him  have  tasted  the  good  word 

1  Quales  sunt,  qui  deportant  calceos  ro-  caro  factum,  et  miro  modo  composuit  in 

Stratos  in  pedibus,  aurum  et  argentum  ro-  eucharistia,  ut  essent  manna  absconditum 

bis,  cornuti  in  pedibus  in  barbia  et  omues  et  omuis  multitude)  dulcedinis  Sacramento 

induti  veste  bottata  et  peregrina.  sub   speciebus   panis   et   vini   abscondita, 

-  Jam  nostris  temporibas  archiepiscopus  quemadmodum  lac  puero  matris  ejus  cela- 

Pragensis  Johannes  publico  excommuni-  turn  est  in  mamilLis,  et  veluti  puer  nullum 

cari   praecepit  bujusmodi  filios  Belial,  qui  vestigium  lactis  videns  suis  oculis,  labori- 

defendebant  rostra  in  calceis  et  cornutas  ose  sugens  ubero,  in  intimis  suis  dulcedi- 

vestes  et   impudicas;    nam  tempore,  quo  ncm  percipit,  quandoque  pascitur  et  valde 

Bcribo,  coram  Jesu  sum  testis  illius,  et  sta-  dclectatur. 

bam  ante  foras  templi,  vetans  tales  ana-  6  Ita  prorsus  quilibet  fidelis  nulla  suavi- 

themate  percussos  divinia  officiis  interesse.  tate  speciem  Jesu  ab  eo  in  hoc  sacramen- 

1  See  abote,  page  192.  to  percipiens,  sed  solum  species  panis  et 

'  Corpus  domini  et  sanguis  est  lac  da-  vini  sensiluis  suis  tractans,  turn  per  cona- 

tum  pueris,  ut  sugerent,  lac  de  petra  ole-  tus   et   laborem  interioris    hominis   sugit 

unique    de  saxo  durissimo,  quia  verbum  hunc  devotionis  spiritum  suavem  in   me- 

caro  factum  est,  at  homo  sic  panem  angel-  dullis  suae  animae,  et  degustat,  quam  sua- 

orum  manducaret,  sicque  digessit  verbum  vis  est  dominus. 


224  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

of  the  Lord,  to  us  it  is  sweet  indeed  as  the  mother's  nourishing  breast." 
The  laity  were  often  more  worthy  by  reason  of  their  free  spontaneous 
longing,  than  mere  priests  by  vocation.  The  faithful,  god-worthy  long- 
ing of  such  laymen  was  evidenced  by  this,  that  nothing  could  keep  them 
back ;  they  forsook  everything  in  this  world,  their  homes,  their  yokes 
of  oxen,*  their  wives.  "  All  that  was  gain  to  them,  they  counted  as 
loss,  that  they  might  so  win  Christ,  by  often  and  gladly  partaking  of 
his  body  and  blood."  He  goes  on  to  describe  the  longing  of  these 
pious  laymen,  and  to  show  what  sacrifices  they  made  to  satisfy  it. 
"  They  demand  it  humbly  of  their  priests  if  it  can  be  done ;  and,  if 
refused,  they  press  them  with  still  more  importunity,  begging,  adjur- 
ing them,  and  requiring  it  of  them  till  they  grow  tiresome.  And  when 
they  find  themselves  repulsed  in  every  way  by  the  inferior  clergy, 
from  ignorance,  negligence,  or  pride,  they  apply  next  to  priests  of  a 
higher  degree,  to  the  bishops  and  their  officials,  and  never  cease, 
timid  as  they  may  be,  unpleasant  as  they  may  find  the  duty,  to  urge 
and  entreat,  that  they  would  procure  for  them  a  more  frequent  pre- 
sentation of  the  Lord."  He  affirms  that  no  unworthiness  of  the  Christ  • 
ian,  if  he  be  but  conscious  of  it,  and  make  confession  of  it,  can  unfit 
him  for  the  frequent  or  daily  enjoyment  of  the  communion.  The  con- 
trary rather  holds  good.  If  a  person  deems  himself  worthy  or  holy, 
and  boasts  of  being  so,  this  makes  the  Christian  unworthy ;  for  it  is 
pride  and  the  worst  kind  of  hypocrisy.2  Any  Christian  who  in  this 
present  life  held  himself  to  be  worthy  of  the  daily  communion,  and 
professed  as  much  of  himself,  whatever  position  that  Christian  might 
hold,  and  however  much  he  might  surpass  others  in  virtue,  and  who 
looked  upon  others  as  unworthy,  that  man  was  alone  and  especially 
unworthy.  The  holy  supper  appears  to  him  to  be  the  highest  act  of 
worship,  one  with  which  nothing  else  was  to  be  compared ;  and  if  it 
was  objected  that  yet  the  celebration  of  the  high  festivals  consisted  in 
song  and  prayer,  and  the  grand  and  imposing  variety  of  holy  ceremo- 
nies ;  he  replied,  Still  all  this  was  not  to  be  compared  with  the  act  of 
partaking  of  the  festival  of  the  Lord  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  All  this, 
says  he,  song,  prayer,  preaching  is  but  a  preparation  for  the  festival, 
and  a  certain  participation  in  the  fellowship  with  Christ ;  but  after  all 
it  was  not  the  true  and  spiritual  festival  of  Christ,  for  it  was  not  the 
bread  that  came  down  from  heaven.  He  says :  "  Nominal  Christians, 
worldly  Christians,  those  of  a  carnal  mind,  who  have  not  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  never  partake  freely,  with  great  desire  and  thankful  heart,  of 
the  body  of  Christ ;  but,  as  often  as  they  come  to  the  sacrament,  it  is 
done  with  constraint,  through  the  force  of  a  custom  observed  from  child- 
hood, or  from  slavish  fear."  He  compares  the  way  in  which  the  Chris- 
tian assimilates  this  spiritual  food   and  takes  it  up  into  his  being,  with 

'  Doubtless  with  allusion  to  the  excuses  crebra  communione,  sed  raagis  e  contra- 
offered  in  the  parable  of  the  marriage  sup-  rio  :  omnis  dignitas  moralis  credita  vel 
per.  confessa  de  se  ipso  dignitas  vel  sanctitas, 

2  Est  hie  advertendum,  quod  omnis  in-  ilia    nimis  facit    indignum   Christianum, 

dignitas  in  Christiano  allegabilis  undecun-  quia  est  superbia  et  hypocrisis  pessima, 

que,  si  est  eognita  et  confessa  in  veritate,  coeca  et  mendosa. 
nou  facit  eum  iudiguum   quotidiana  vel 


JANOW'S    WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.  ET   N.    T.  225 

the  assimilating  process  in  the  case  of  natural  food.  "  The  sinner — he 
says  —  is  at  the  first  unlike  Jesus  Christ ;  but,  by  degrees,  faster  or 
slower,  the  life  and  spirit  of  the  sinful  man  become  transformed  into  the 
spirit  and  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  pass  into  the  most  intimate  union 
with  him,  no  longer  to  be  separated  by  any  human  power."  He  cites 
a  remark  from  St.  Augustin,  where  the  latter  represents  Christ  as  say- 
ing,- in  relation  to  the  holy  supper,  It  is  not  thou  who  art  to  trans- 
form me  into  -thyself,  as  the  food  for  thy  body,  but  thou  art  to  be 
transformed  into  me.  "  And  this  is  preeminently  the  way  in  which 
Cod  is  glorified,  and  wonderfully  appears  in  his  saints,  that  that  Word, 
from  whom  all  things  have  sprung,  in  whom  and  by  whom  are  all 
things,  —  of  whom  it  is  said,  that  he  shall  at  last  be  all  in  all,  —  does 
in  this  way  draw  back  again  and  transform  all  things  into  himself."  l 
He  then  complains  that  the  holy  supper  should  in  his  own  days  be 
so  commonly  neglected  among  Christians,  that  they  no  longer  earnest- 
ly endeavored  to  have  their  spirit  transformed  into  the  life  and  Spirit 
of  Christ,  but  rather  hindered  it.  It  seemed  to  be  their  great  end 
and  aim  to  have  a  comfortable  and  quiet  life  in  the  world.  They  did 
not  strive  to  be  transformed  into  Christ,  but  longed  and  labored,  as 
much  as  in  them  lay,  that  Christ  should  be  transformed  into  them- 
selves ;  they  sought  not  to  become  like  to  Jesus  Christ,  but  desired 
rather  that  Jesus  Christ  should  be  like  to  themselves : 2  which  was 
the  greatest  imaginable  wrong,  the  very  sin  of  Lucifer.  It  was  a 
tiling  unworthy  of  this  glorious  sacrament,  to  think  of  compelling  men 
to  partake  of  it.  This  never  should  be  done  except  in  the  case  of 
those  weak  Christians  who  ventured  not  to  come.  He  blames  those 
that  advised  people  of  a  wicked  life  to  keep  away  from  the  sacrament ; 
for  it  could  in  nowise  profit  them  to  persevere  in  their  wicked  life, 
and, for  this  reason, continue  to  be  strangers  to  the  remedy  which  was 
the  safest  for  them.  Such  unworthy  persons  therefore  should  rather 
be  advised  to  leave  off  their  wicked  life,  and  in  company  with  the 
saints  go  frequently  to  the  Lord's  festival.  He  declares  his  disagree- 
ment with  the  advice  commonly  given  that  every  man  should  examine 
himself,  and,  if  he  found  himself  unworthy,  abstain  from  the  Lord's 
supper.  In  opposition  to  this,  he  cites  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  1  Cor. 
11 :  28,  and  lays  emphasis  on  the  phrase,  Let  a  man  examine  himself 
and  so  let  him  eat,  —  not,  and  so  let  him  abstain.  He  seems  also  to 
infer  from  these  words,  that  this  self  examination  was  to  serve  only  as 
a  preparation  to  enable  one  worthily  to  partake  of  the  holy  supper. 
He  notices  another  objection :  It  suffices  to  receive  the  holy  sacra- 
ment but  once ;  for  at  this  one  time  we  receive  all.     To  this  he  re- 

!  Quod  illud  verbum,  ex  quo  omnia,  in  ad  hoc  se  ponunt,  ut  bonam  vitara,  seu 
quo  omnia  et  per  quod  omnia,  quod  ulti-  delicatam  et  quietam  habeant  in  hoc  mini- 
mo  ilicitur  esse  omnia  in  omnibus,  tali  do.  Non  laborant  in  Christum  comma- 
modo  et  via  in  se  ipsum  iterum  convertit  tan,  sed  cupiunt  et  quantum  in  se  est.  ta- 
ct digerit  omnia.  ciunt,  Christum  in  se  ipsos   converti,  non 

-  Nee  satagunt,  digne  ritam  suam  car-  desiderant  esse  Christi  Jesu    similes,  sed 

nalem  et  s].iritum  suum  vacuum  et  inan-  Christum  Jesum  cupiunt  esse  similem  sibi 

em    convert!    in  vitam   et   spiritum  Jesu  ipsis. 
Christi,  quinimo  impediunt,  quia  de  facto 


226  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

plies  :  God  has  given  it  to  his  Son  alone,  to  have  life  in  himself  so  as 
never  to  be  in  need  of  receiving  it  anew  ;  but  for  all  creatures  it  is  not 
enough  to  have  received  life  once  ;  the  life  thus  received,  in  order  to 
be  preserved,  needs  to  be  constantly  communicated  anew  from  above  ; 
and  in  order  that  it  may  be  thus  communicated,  in  order  that  the 
natural  life  in  created  beings  may  be  continually  renewed  in  them, 
they  require  food.  But,  this  holds  good  too  of  the  true,  divine,  and 
blessed  life.  It  is  not  enough  that  it  should  have  once  been  commu- 
nicated from  above  through  the  medium  of  faith  and  baptism  ;  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  same,  it  was  requisite  that  it  should  ever  be  given 
to  them  anew  from  the  Father,  by  the  Son,  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  through 
the  medium  of  the  Lord's  supper.'  "  Although  —  says  he  —  our  Lord 
gives  to  Christians  the  beginning  of  a  life  of  grace,  a  blessed  life, 
through  faith,  as  it  is  written,  The  just  shall  live  by  faith,  and  through 
baptism  ;  yet  he  has  in  his  infinite  wisdom  ordained  this  sacrament, 
and  directed  Christians  to  repeat  it  daily,  or  at  least  often,  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  or  continuing  this  life  of  grace.  The  Christian, 
well-grounded  in  the  faith,  ought  to  know  that  Jesus  the  crucified  is 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his  life  of  grace,  in  the  general  and  in 
the  particular,  because,  without  him,  he  can  do  nothing."  2  We  may 
understand  from  these  words  how  Matthias  of  Janow  apprehended 
the  relation  of  the  holy  supper  to  baptism ;  that  through  the  Lord's 
supper,  the  divine  life  once  received  in  baptism,  should  be  renewedly 
and  ever  more  completely  appropriated  in  communion  with  Christ,  till 
it  should  thoroughly  interpenetrate  the  entire  human  nature. 

Accordingly,  to  the  objection  that  since  eternal  life  is  communicated 
in  the  Lord's  supper,  it  is  enough  to  have  received  it  once,  he  replies : 
"  This  does  not  follow  ;  for  God,  in  his  infinite  providence,  has  not  so 
ordained  it ;  but  rather  thus,  that  the  man  who  seeks  it,  and  in  spirit 
partakes  of  it  daily,  should  possess  it."  He  employs  the  following  illus- 
tration :  "  The  sun  continually  gives  out  his  light  and  communicates 
that  element  to  our  eyes  ;  but  he  that  would  take  the  sunlight  into  his 
eyes  and  enjoy  the  blessing  of  it,  must  have  his  eyes  turned  to  the 
light,  and  be  susceptible  of  its  influences  ;  and  he  must  constantly  re- 
ceive the  light  from  the  sun,  or  as  often  as  he  would  use  it.  But  if  he 
shuts  his  eyes,  or  from  some  accident  ceases  to  receive  the  light  con- 
stantly radiating  from  the  sun,  he  shortly  loses  the  whole,  nor  is  a  par- 

1  Est  diligenter  notandum,  quod  deus  turae  viventi  secundum  suam   specialem 

pater  soli  unigenito  filio  dedit,  vitam  ha-  sapientiam  atque  suavitatem  ordinavit  ei- 

bere  in  semet  ipso  ab  aeterno  et  suhstan-  bum  et  apposuit,  ut  sic  per  cibi  sui  proprii 

tialiter,  et  nulli  alterae  (?)  creaturae,  sed  crebram  vel  continuam  sumptionem  conti- 

quia  omnes  creaturae  accipient  participa-  nuaret  delectabiliter  et  suaviter  suam  vi- 

tionem  suae  vitae  a  deo  per  filium  in  spi-  tarn. 

ritu  sancto,  et  quod  omnes  creaturae  ac-  2  Licet  dominus  dat  principium  vitae 
cepta  vita  a  deo,  specialiter  vita  beatinca  gratuitaeet  beatiricae  Christianis  perfidem, 
et  perpetua,  de  qua  hie  sermo,  necesse  ha-  sicut  scriptum  est:  Justus  itutem  mens  ex 
berent.  cam  accipere  a  deo  suo,  et  quod  fide  vivit,  et  per  baptismum,  tamen  cum 
non  suiHcit  semel  accipere  vitam  suam  a  hoc  ex  immensa  sua  sapientia  et  bonitate 
deo  in  praesenti,  sed  necesse  habet  conti-  ordinavit,  hoc  sacramentum  altaris  et  sta- 
nue  respiccre,  et  pro  vita  sua  conservanda  tuit  Christianis  iterandum  quotidie  aut 
et  continuanda,  et  deum  solum  requirere  alias  saepe  ad  eandem  vitam  gratiae  con- 
ad  hoc.     Igitur  per  hoc  deus  omni  crea-  servandam  et  continuandam. 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET   N.    T.  227 

tide  to  be  had  till  he  turns  once  more  to  the  sun."  He  calls  the  holy 
supper  the  food,  which  has  been  prepared  for  and  given  to  men  wounded, 
weak,  and  blind,  to  unclean  sinners,  to  those  who  sigh  and  mourn  over 
their  sins.  He  complains  of  the  clergy  who  were  not  willing  to  distrib- 
ute to  these  the  food  designed  expressly  for  their  use,  but  reserved  it 
for  angels,  waited  for  angels,  waited  for  such  as  led  an  angel-like  life, 
to  come  and  appropriate  it  ;  or  who  would  only  partake  of  it  for  them- 
selves, because  they  were  called  the  angels  for  the  people,  or  were  set 
over  them  as  such;  when  the  truth  was.  they  were  neither  like  the  an- 
gels, nor  set  over  them,  but  had  been  taken  from  that  sinful  race  of  man, 
and  were  set  among  sinful  men,  and  over  them.  "  Such  bad  stew- 
ards —  he  says  —  crush  to  the  earth,  in  their  way  of  prescribing  and 
of  administering  penance,  the  little  ones  in  Christ,  by  a  wisdom  which, 
as  it  comes  not  from  the  Spirit  of  our  most  loving  and  bounteous  Saviour, 
must  needs  be  called  a  fleshly  wisdom.  It  was  their  fault  that  such 
persons  fell  back  into  sin,  torn  away  as  they  were,  so  cruelly  and  vio- 
lently, from  the  breast  of  their  mother.  He  taxes  them,  namely,  with 
troubling  the  consciences  of  these  persons  by  requiring  of  them  too  se- 
vere a  life,  and  laying  on  their  necks  intolerable  burdens.  He  condemns 
the  current  opinion  that  it  was  quite  sufficient  for  christian  laymen,  if, 
after  the  preparation  of  the  fasts,  they  partook  of  the  communion  once 
at  Easter  festival.  "  When  those  days  are  over  —  says  he  —  they  soon 
forget  the  whole,  and  fall  back  again  into  their  old  vain  habits  of  life. 
They  relax  from  the  holy  discipline  they  had  commenced,  and  begin 
once  more  to  put  themselves  on  a  level  with  this  vain  world,  so  that  the 
man  is  scarcely  if  ever  to  be  found,  who,  after  having  gone  through  his 
penance  and  received  the  holy  sacrament,  perseveres  in  the  right  way, 
and  worthily  reforms  his  life  according  to  the  requirements  of  Chris- 
tianity." To  such  outside  repentance  he  applies  what  Christ  says  of  the 
evil  spirit  driven  from  a  man  and  then  returning  with  seven  others  still 
worse  than  himself.  The  poor  people  are  thus  led  to  suppose  that 
things  forbidden  are  to  be  avoided  only  on  fast  days,  that  at 
these  seasons  alone  penance  is  necessary  to  be  done,  and  that  it  suf- 
fices, for  salvation,  to  confess  one's  sins  and  receive  the  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord,  without  once  thinking  of  his  passion,  or  voluntarily  suf- 
fering with  him.  "But  with  all  this,  they  hold  fast  to  the  freedom  of  the 
flesh,  conform  in  all  else  to  this  world,  love  the  world  and  that  which 
is  of  it  the  whole  day.  The  same  christian  people  —  he  says  —  think 
they  are  safely  in  Christ  when,  in  carnal  security,  they  have  observed 
according  to  custom,  the  things  of  religion,  without  any  of  the  true  life 
and  spirit  of  Jesus  the  crucified.  0,  blindness  of  Israel !  —  he  ex- 
claims—  0,  fatal  mistake  !  which,  if  it  were  possible,  might  deceive 
even  God's  elect ;  0,  deceitful  and  partial  spirit  of  Satan  ;  and  alas  ! 
for  the  sufferings  of  the  saints,  who  truly  repent,  who  on  account  of  this 
communion  are  insulted  and  despised  by  their  seemingly  pious  breth- 
ren, and  accused  of  heresy!"  lie  then  refers  back  to  an  example 
which  had  been  cited  against  him,  to  the  case  of  those  old  eremites, 
who  could  only  receive  the  holy  supper  at  rare  intervals,  and  remarks  : 
"  With  these  persons,  it  was  altogether  another  affair  ;  they  had  lived 


228 


HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 


an  angel-like  life  ;  and  what  might  be  true  of  them,  could  not  be  ap- 
plied to  those,  who  were  placed  amid  the  conflicts  of  the  world.  Those 
eremites  had  no  priest  to  distribute  the  Lord's  supper  to  them.  In 
such  cases,  the  Lord  Christ  is  ever  wont  to  supply,  by  his  own  presence, 
the  absence  of  priests.  To  the  objection  that  a  special  preparation  is 
necessary  in  order  to  worthy  participation  in  the  communion,  he  replies  : 
The  preparation  of  souls  for  this  festival,  does  not  require  a  forty- 
days'  fast  ;  for  the  spirit  of  a  Christian  must  be  one  ever  pressing  on- 
ward, never  retrograding ;  one  ever  rising  in  aspiration  and  prayer  to 
God  ;  ever  open  to  divine  impressions.  "  But  even  suppose  the  spirit  not 
to  be  in  this  right  state  of  preparation  ;  yet  it  may  transport  itself  at 
once  into  the  proper  frame.  For  spirit  and  will  are  not  bound  to  time 
or  to  place.  For  to  these  conditions  men's  bodies  are  subject,  but  not 
the  soul  and  spirit ;  the  latter  perform  their  actions  in  a  sphere  out  of 
space  and  time."  l 

"  The  activity  of  the  spirit  and  especially  when  turned  upon  spirit- 
ual things,  excludes  the  train  of  successive  motions  ;  for  it  proceeds 
from  that  which  is  incapable  of  division  and  relates  to  that  which  is 
incapable  of  division  and  above  space  and  time,  which  introduce  suc- 
cession.2 Next,  a  worthy  preparation  cannot  proceed  from  the  spirit 
of  man,  but  must  proceed  rather  from  the  spirit  of  Christ,  which  is 
omnipotent,  and  in  which  therefore  no  division  of  successive  moments 
can  find  place  in  matters  pertaining  to  its  own  essence,  namely,  spirit- 
ual things.  What  is  said  in  Holy  Scripture  of  the  paschal  lamb  once 
offered,  has  reference  only  to  the  one  sacrifice  offered  by  Christ ;  but 
far  from  us  be  the  thought  that  Christians  are  to  celebrate  the  memory 
of  Christ's  passion  only  once  a  year,  —  a  remembrance  which  ought  on 
the  contrary  to  be  uninterruptedly  present  to  their  minds. "3  He  sup- 
poses the  case  of  a  priest  who  should  say  to  a  person  wishing  to  re- 
ceive the  communion,  Go  away ;  for  to-day  thou  art  unworthy  ;  and 
come  back  worthier  to-morrow  or  in  a  week  ;  in  the  place  of  such  a 
person  he  would  reply,  I  know  I  am  unworthy  ;  therefore  it  is  that  I 
come  begging  and  trembling  to  thee  ;  because  thou  hast  received  in 
my  behalf  from  my  God  and  Jesus  Christ  the  power  to  render  me 
worthy  who  am  unworthy,  since  by  thy  prayer  thou  canst  absolve  me, 
and  by  giving  me  my  portion  of  our  daily  bread,  canst  change  me  into 
the  same ;  and  all  that  pertains  to  the  making  me  worthy  of  that  bread 
I  have  already,  in  my  perfect  will ;  for  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but 
how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I  find  not.  But  all  that  which  the 
spirit  must  further  produce  out  of  me  and  in  me,  I  hope  to  find  in 
that  daily  bread.  Therefore  I  beg  of  you  to  give  me  this  day  our  dai- 
ly bread,  and  am  in  haste  for  it.     Thus  strengthened  and  enlightened, 

1  Quodsi  forte  est  spiritus  in  eo  non  successivo,  quoniara  sunt  indivisibilium  ad 

praeparatus,   tunc   spiritus  potest    subito  indivisibilia  supra  locum  et  tempus,  quae 

praeparari,  turn  quia  spiritus  seu  mens  aut  deferunt  successionem. 

voluntas  non  requhit  tempus,  non  locum ;  3  Absit  autem  hoc  a  Christianis,  quod 

his  enim  corpora  sunt  subjecta,  non  mens,  debeant  solum  semel  in  anno  agere  me- 

non    spiritus    hominis,   sed   omnino    suas  moriam  dominicae  passionis,  quae   conti- 

operationes  agunt  extra  tempus  et  locum,  nuis  momentis  debet  in  ipsorum  pectori- 

4  Turn   quia  actus   mentis  et  spiritus,  bus  demorari. 
praecipue  quoad  divina,  sunt  sine  motu 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET   N.    T.  229 

and  made  alive  in  Christ,  I  shall  in  him  find  a  way  to  accomplish  what 
is  already  present  in  my  will.  But  if  thou  deeinest  me  not  worthy 
today  to  receive  from  thee  the  daily  bread,  as  I  am  today  unworthy, 
so  neither  wilt  thou  present  it  to  me  to-morrow ;  because  neither  to- 
morrow, nor  the  next  day,  nor  ever,  so  long  as  I  live  in  this  body  of 
death  and  sin,  shall  I  be  worthy  enough  of  this  our  heavenly  bread, 
so  far  as  that  itself  is  concerned.  He  stands  up  for  the  pious  lay- 
men who  demanded  with  importunity  the  daily  communion,  and  vindi- 
cating them  from  the  reproach  of  rashness,  declares  it  rather  a  work 
of  the  grace  of  God  and  of  necessity.  "  As  regards  the  former  — 
says  he  —  I  assume  it  to  be  well  known,  that  the  longing  to  partake 
of  Christ's  body  and  blood,  from  faith  and  love,  does  not  spring  from 
flesh  and  blood,  and  cannot  spring  from  them  ;  but  only  from  the  ope- 
ration of  divine  grace  or  from  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ."  He  pro- 
ceeds to  speak  of  those  who,  bowed  down  under  a  sense  of  their  sins, 
dare  not  come  forward  to  partake  of  the  holy  supper,  and  remarks 
that  persons  in  this  temper  of  mind,  who  are  so  deeply  penetrated 
with  the  sense  of  their  own  unworthiness,  are  the  most  worthy  of  all. 
"  Hence  that  person  —  he  says  —  is  in  the  end  filled  with  still  greater 
love  and  ardent  longing  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  at  the  very  time  he 
falls  into  such  divers  temptations,  flies  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  hurries 
to  his  sacrament,  and  though  all  would  frighten  him  from  it,  still  an- 
swers :  Against  Mm  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done  evil  in  his  sight, 
and  therefore  I  fly  to  Mm  alone ;  for  though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I 
trust  in  him,  and  though  he  thrust  me  down  to  hell,  still  I  know  that 
even  in  this  he  does  what  is  best,  for  he  cannot  do  wrong ;  and  I  trust 
that  he  will  also  bring  me  out'  the  pit,  He  who  alone  casteth  down  to 
hell,  and  bringeth  up  therefrom."  In  this  he  sees  the  character  of 
true  love,  which  casteth  out  fear,  which  is  stronger  than  death,  which 
many  waters  cannot  quench  nor  floods  drown.  When  in  opposition  to 
these  views  was  held  up  the  necessity  of  submission  to  ecclesiastical 
order,  the  direction  of  Christ  to  his  disciples  to  observe  and  do  what- 
soever was  bidden  them  by  those  who  sat  in  Moses'  seat,  he  answered  : 
"  Yes,  if  they  build  up  the  communities  and  put  forth  godly  com- 
mands ;  but  if  they  knowingly  pull  them  down,  and  teach  men  to  sin, 
we  are  by  no  means  bound  to  obey  them  in  these  things,  but  ought 
rather  to  follow  the  inward  anointing,  which  teacheth  all  things,  or  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  everywhere,  and  especially  in  God's 
children,  whom  he  himself  directly  guides,  as  the  only  teacher  and 
true  shepherd."  It  was  necessary  to  obey  God  rather  than  men,  to 
try  the  spirits  to  see  whether  they  were  of  God.  He  affirms,  that  the 
primitive  priest  following  Christ's  example  had  always  first  taken  the 
holy  supper  himself,  and  then  distributed  it  to  the  others  in  order. 
Such  had  continued  to  be  the  practice  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles 
for  the  period  of  a  thousand  years,  until  in  these  more  recent  times, 
through  the  increase  and  spread  of  sin,  this  perpetual  sacrifice  had 
been  abolished.  To  the  objection  that  the  spiritual  participation  was 
sufficient  he  answers :  "  It  is  something  greater,  something  more  per- 
manently for  the  saving  good  of  the  Christian  to  eat  and  drink  the  in- 
vol.  v.  20 


230  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

carnate  word  in  the  most  inward  and  real  manner,  than  to  hear  and 
believe  his  words.  The  truth  did  not  declare  that  He  who  speaketh 
or  he  who  heareth  my  words,  the  same  shall  abide  in  me  and  I  in  him  ; 
but  Christ  repeatedly  says  :  He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my 
blood  remaineth  in  me  and  I  in  him."  It  was  objected  by  opponents, 
that  the  holy  supper  would  by  too  frequent  use  become  too  every-day 
an  affair,  and  lose  its  true  significance.  To  this  he  replies  :  "  Never 
will  Christians  grow  weary  of  it ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  longer  they 
intermit  it,  the  more  will  the  holy  longing  for  it  abate  in  them,  and  the 
pains  which  they  would  otherwise  take  to  enjoy  it  diminish.  Another 
delight,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  will  take  possession  of  the  soul,  darken 
it,  and  cause  it  to  forget  that  holy  joy  in  the  sacrament.  By  worldli- 
ness  the  spirit  is  rendered  daily  more  unfit  for  receiving  the  holy  sup- 
per." This  truth  he  finds  typified  in  the  behavior  of  the  Jews  with 
the  manna  ;  when  they  longed  after  the  fleshpots  and  cucumbers  of 
Egypt,  the  manna  was  no  longer  relished  ;  and  when  they  arrived  in 
the  land  of  promise,  and  began  to  busy  themselves  with  cultivating  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  the  manna  was  taken  from  them.  A  simple  spirit- 
ual participation  was  sufficient,  and  might  be  substituted  for  the  bodily, 
where  the  longing  was  present,  but  for  unavoidable  reasons  could  not 
be  satisfied.  "  By  special  privilege  — he  says  —  not  according  to  the 
common  rule,  Christ  himself  brings  about  in  the  most  hidden  manner 
the  spiritual  participation  of  his  body  by  those  of  whom  he  knows  it  to 
be  true,  that  they  worthily  long  to  partake  of  his  body,  and  would 
gladly  receive  it  every  day,  and  pray  for  it,  in  their  prayers  to  God  in 
the  Paternoster  and  in  those  of  men,  the  ministers  of  the  church, — 
Christians  who  when  they  cannot  enjoy  the  privilege  of  the  sacrament, 
mourn  and  sigh  over  the  deprivation  with  an  unendurable  hunger  and 
thirst,  such  and  such  alone  does  the  spirit  of  Christ  visit  directly,  when 
and  where  he  pleases,  causing  them  by  virtue  of  his  own  grace  to 
manducate  spiritually  and  bodily,  sometimes  in  the  mass,  sometimes 
after  the  mass,  morning  or  evening,  by  night  or  by  day,  in  a  secret  and 
invisible  manner."1  He  reaffirms  it  over  and  over  that  pious  laymen 
stood  in  no  respect  whatever  inferior  to  the  priests  as  proper  subjects 
for  the  enjoyment  of  the  Lord's  supper,  but  frequently  surpassed  them 
in  holy  simplicity  and  innocence.  In  partaking  of  that  sacrament  the 
most  important  qualification  was  great  simplicity  of  faith  ;  hence  all 
human  science  served  rather  to  distract  and  dissipate,  to  destroy  devo- 
tion, fervency  of  the  affections,  and  stability  of  faith.2     It  is  evident 

1  Illis  dieo  spiritus  Jesu  manducationem  vult  et  cum  vult,  ex  sua  gratia  faciens  ip- 

sui  corporis  spiritualem  ex  singulari  pri-  sos   corporaliter   spiritualiter   manducare, 

vilegio,  non  ex  communi  pacto  et  ordina-  aliquando  in  missa,  aliquando  post  mis- 

tione  solusmet  operatur  intime,  quos   ipse  sam,  post  prandium,  de  mane,  de  vespere, 

videt,  quam  digne  affectant  Christi  corpus  in  nocte  vel  in  die,  latenter  et  occulte. 

manducare  et  vellent  omni  die,  et  hoc  ro-  2  Simplicitate  sancta  et  innocentia,  quo 

gant  et  apud  deum  in  oratione  dominica  ad  hoc  ipsis  plebejis  suffragante  praecipue 

et  apud  homines  et  ministros  ecclesiae,  et  circa  beatificum  altaris  sacramentum,  ubi 

si  fieri  ipsis   sacramentaliter  non   potest,  requiritur  maxima  simplicitas  sanctae  fidei 

dolent  et  ingemiscunt,  fame  et  siti  vexati,  Christianae  ;    et   omnis    scientia   humana 

in  spiritu  suo  et  necessitate  male  patien-  ideo  magis  ibidem  venit  ad  dissipationem, 

tes  ;  talibus  igitur  solum  occurrit  spirit  Jesu  devotionis  et  caritatis  destructionem  et  in 

Christi,  et  plurimuin  si   vult  et   quando  credendo  firmitatem. 


JANOW'S   WORK   DE   REGULIS   V.    ET    N.    T.  231 

from  the  passages  above  cited  that  Matthias  of  Janow  constantly  pre- 
supposes no  difference  to  exist,  as  to  the  privilege  of  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  holy  supper  in  both  kinds,  between  priests  and  laymen ; 
and  he  expressly  points  to  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament  as  ante- 
types  of  this  sacrament  in  as  far  as  both  forms  belonged  to  its  com- 
pleteness and  integrity  ;i  and,  as  he  says,  that  the  whole  multitude 
should  taste  the  sweetness  of  the  sacrament  that  is  hidden  beneath  the 
species  of  bread  and  wine,  it  follows  that  in  his  view  the  whole  multi- 
tude should  partake  of  both  forms  of  the  Lord's  supper.3 

Matthias  of  Janow,  as  we  have  already  remarked  in  passing,  men- 
tions among  the  signs  of  the  time  which  indicated  the  degeneracy  of 
the  church,  and  announced  the  coming  in  of  Antichrist,  the  schism 
between  the  two  popes  ;  and  in  common  with  many  of  the  best  men  of  his 
age  he  regarded  this  schism  as  a  symptom  of  the  distempered  condition 
of  the  church  and  an  admonition  from  God  designed  to  bring  men  to 
the  consciousness  of  her  corruption  and  to  awaken  the  longing  for  her 
regeneration.  This  schism  he  ascribes  to  the  pleasure-pursuing,  pomp- 
loving,  worldly  spirit  of  the  cardinals.  "  It  never  arose  —  he  says  — 
from  any  love  which  the  cardinals  had  for  Christ  and  his  church,  but 
from  their  love  of  themselves  and  their  love  of  the  world.3  Nor  did 
this  schism  tend  ultimately  to  the  injury  of  the  church,  but  was  rather 
a  benefit,  inasmuch  as  the  kingdom  of  Antichrist  would  thereby  be 
more  easily  and  more  speedily  destroyed.  Those  days  would  be  short- 
ened for  the  elect's  sake.  Besides,  the  church  would  get  rid  of  the 
numberless  multitude  of  hypocrites.  He  affirms,  too,  that  it  was  only 
the  external  appearance  of  the  church  which  could  be  affected  by  this 
schism,  her  essential  being  was  raised  above  its  influence.  "  The  body 
of  the  omnipotent  and  altogether  indivisible  Jesus  Christ,  the  commu- 
nity of  saints,  is  not  divided,  neither  indeed  can  be  divided  :  "  —  that 
church  which,  by  virtue  of  its  eternal  and  immutable  unity,  depends 
wholly  on  the  unity  of  God,  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  his 
spirit.  As  he  discovers  in  the  prevailing  selfish  element  the  cause  of 
all  divisions  of  the  church  and  of  all  her  corruptions,  so  it  seems  to 
him  that  restoration  of  church  unity  and  a  reformation  of  the  church 
can  proceed  only  from  the  overcoming  of  that  selfish  element.  He 
says,  the  blissful  unity  of  the  church  can  never  be  truly  restored, 
until  men  governed  by  self-love  are  removed  entirely  out  of  the  way, 
and  their  places  filled  by  those  in  vastly  multiplied  numbers  who  over- 
flow with  zeal  for  the  true  unity  of  the  church,  —  men  who  seek  not 
their  own  but  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ ;  which  selfseeking  he  ap- 
plies not  to  those  alone  who  seek  their  own  in  the  things  of  this  world, 
but  to  those  also  who  in  spiritual  things  are  seeking  only  to  set  up 

1  Samncium  legis  fuit  hoc  sacrificium  Christiani,    quotquot    ibidem    congregati, 

propter  dualitatem  utriusque  speciei,  sumebant  communitcr  de  Mo  jiane  coelesri 

panis  et  vini,   ex  quibus  hoc  sacrificium  a  ministerio  et  de  calice,  ita  quod   primus 

integratur.  saccrdos  accepit,  dehinc  dedit  omnibus. 

'-'  bit  omnia  multitudo  dulcedinis  sacra-        3  Cum  non  ex  eo  schisms  hoc  factum 

mento  sub  speciebus  panis  et  vini  abscond-  est,  quod  dilexissent  Christum  Jesum  et 

ita;  and.  in  the  passage  above  quoted,  the  ejus  ecclesiam,  sed  ex   co.  quod  se  ipsos 

important   words   in    this   view :    Omnes  amaverunt  et  nunc  mundum. 


282  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

themselves  and  their  party,  looking  down  with  contempt  upon  all 
others.'  As  one  symptom  of  the  fall  of  the  church,  and  a  premoni- 
tory sign  of  the  last  times,  he  considers  the  various  oppositions  of 
party,  of  which  each  would  claim  Christ  exclusively  for  itself ;  — the 
party  of  the  Roman  popes  among  the  Italians,  the  party  of  the  popes 
at  Avignon  among  the  French,  the  Greek  church,  the  different  orders 
of  monks,  spiritual  and  secular  fraternities.  Everywhere  the  cry  was  : 
Lo  here  is  Christ,  and  lo  there  is  Christ.  The  church  was  no  longer 
a  city  on  a  hill,  conspicuous  to  all,  but  split  into  three  parts.2  But 
although  he  reckons  schism  generally  among  the  signs  of  corruption, 
yet  the  greatest  right  belonged  in  his  opinion,  comparatively  speaking, 
to  Urban  VI ;  and  he  regarded  it  generally  as  a  work  of  Satan  and 
Antichrist,  that  Clement  VI.  should  gain  such  power  against  the  law- 
ful pope  ;  and  that  so  many  persons  distinguished  even  for  intelli- 
gence could  be  deceived.  "  Antichrist  —  he  says  —  has  exalted  him- 
self against  the  true  pope,  Urban  VI.  He  has  persecuted  and  killed 
the  saints ;  and  attacked  the  entire  church  with  such  party  spirit  and 
craft,  that  he  has  drawn  wholly  over  to  himself  the  sacred  college  of 
the  cardinals  and  made  other  colleges  wavering,  and  the  whole  body 
of  the  wise,  as  for  example,  the  university  of  Paris  and  other  universi- 
ties." 

We  have  already  observed,  however,  since  the  time  of  Militz,  the 
antagonism  between  a  reform  and  anti-reform  tendency  among  the 
clergy  and  laity  had  been  continually  evolving  itself.  Matthias  of 
Janow  was,  without  doubt,  at  this  time  the  centre  and  nucleus  of  the 
reform  tendency ;  as  we  might  easily  infer,  indeed,  that  he  would  be, 
from  his  principles  thus  far  unfolded  ;  and  he  himself,  in  various  places, 
mentions  the  existence  of  this  antagonism :  "  They  —  says  he  —  who 
are  apostles  and  preachers  of  Antichrist,  oppress  the  apostles,  the 
wise  men  and  prophets  of  Christ,  persecuting  them  in  various  ways, 
and  boldly  asserting,  that  these  ministers  of  Christ  are  heretics,  hypo- 
crites, and  Antichrists.3  And  since  many  and  mighty  members  of 
Antichrist  go  forth  in  a  countless  variety  of  ways,  they  persecute  the 
members  of  Christ  who  are  few  and  weak,  compelling  them  to  go 
from  one  city  to  another  by  driving  them  from  the  synagogues,  (ex- 
cluding them  from  the  fellowship  of  the  church).  Whenever  one  of 
the  society  of  such  Christians  ventures  to  be  somewhat  more  free  of 
speech,  and  to  live  more  worthily  of  Christ  than  is  common,  he  is 

1  Ego  illos  hie  puto  magis  se  ipsos  tern,  Francigenas  ad  occidentem.  —  Ecce 
amantes  et  quae  sua  sunt  inquirentes  pri-  obscuritas  solis  et  lunae,  ut  et  civitas  po- 
vate,  qui  non  tarn  in  rebus  corporalibus  et  sita  supra  montem  abscondita  et  obnubi- 
variis,  quae  sua  sunt  quaerunt,  non  quae  lata,  quod  videri  non  possit.  —  Hodie  di- 
proximorum  vel  eommunitatis  Christi  tide-  cunt  Francigenae  cum  suo  occidentali 
Hum,  sed  et  in  rebus  spiritualibus  et  prim-  comitivo  :  hie  est  Christus,  Italici  vero  et 
ariis  tantum  sua  commoda  inquirunt,  ex-  Romani  ad  meridiem  affirmant  dicentes : 
sortes  ab  amore  communis  fraternitatis  imo  hie  est  Christus  et  non  alibi.  Et  ec- 
christianae,  qua  composita  est  ex  perfectis  clesia  Graecorum  ad  orientem  asseverat 
et  imperfectis,  ex  justis  et  inhrmis.  pertinaciter  dicens  :   non  ibi  nee  alibi,  sed 

2  Civitas  ilia  magna  orbis  christianorum     hie  nobiscum  est  Christus. 

in  tres  partes  de  facto  est  conscissa,  sive        3  Membra  fortia  et  multa  antichristi. 
llomanos  ad  meridiem,  Graecos  ad  orien- 


JANOW  AND  THE  SYNOD  OF  PRAGUE  IN  1389.       233 

directly  called  a  begbard,  or  by  some  other  heretical  name,  or  merely 
set  down  as  a  hypocrite  or  fool.  If  he  do  but  in  a  small  degree 
imitate  his  crucified  master,  and  confess  his  truth,  he  will  experience 
at  once  a  fierce  persecution  from  some  side  of  the  thick  body  of  Anti- 
christ. If  thou  dost  not  live  just  as  they  do,  thou  wilt  be  judged  to 
be  nothing  else  but  a  poor  superstitious  creature  or  a  false  guide." 
This  antagonism  became  strikingly  manifest  at  the  remarkable  synod 
of  Prague,  of  the  year  1389,  when  the  dominant  party  pronounced 
against  the  principle  of  reform  :  that  synod  by  which,  as  it  is  said, 
Matthias  of  Janow  was  compelled  to  make  a  recantation  —  particu 
laiiy  of  the  principles  he  held  in  relation  to  the  full  participation  of 
the  laity  in  the  Lord's  supper.  There  may  be  some  question  with 
regard  to  the  nature  of  the  explanations  which  he  made  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  which  were  interpreted  as  a  recantation.  It  is  evident,  at 
least,  that  subsequently  he  continued  to  inculcate  the  same  principles, 
and  was  zealously  opposed  to  that  synod.  Let  us  listen  to  his  own 
words  on  this  subject :  "  Alas  !  several  colleges  and  the  multitude  of 
those  who  style  themselves  masters  and  men  of  wisdom,  lay  it  down  as 
an  ordinance  of  God  in  the  church,  that  images  of  wood,  of  stone,  and 
of  silver,  and  such  like,  are  to  be  prayed  to  and  worshipped  by  Christ- 
ians, though  Holy  Scripture  is  in  plain  and  express  contradiction 
thereto  :  "  —  where  he  appeals  to  the  law  of  the  Old  Testament.  He 
ingenuously  rejects,  as  we  have  already  shown,  the  testimony  cited 
from  Thomas  Aquinas  and  other  schoolmen,  in  defence  of  this  image- 
worship.  Simply  on  account  of  this  was  the  reproach  of  idolatry  cast 
upon  the  church  by  Jews  and  Pagans.  "  Although  a  sophist  and 
logician  might  perhaps  defend  himself  against  the  arguments  used  by 
the  Jews,  without  doing  violence  to  his  conscience  and  his  faith ;  yet 
the  unlearned  people  of  the  christian  communities  are  undoubtedly 
overcome  by  them,  and  seriously  injured  in  purity  of  christian  faith." 
The  allusion  here  is  to  the  artificial  interpretations  and  distinctions, 
employed  among  the  Greeks  since  the  seventh  century,  and  among 
the  Latins  since  the  triumph  of  image- worship,  to  defend  this  image- 
worship  against  the  reproach  of  idolatry,  and  to  reconcile  it  with  the 
purely  spiritual  worship  of  God  ;  a  method  which  the  synod  of  Prague 
seems  also  to  have  employed.  But  Matthias  of  Janow,  a  man  so 
watchfully  observant  of  the  wants  of  the  people,  knew  how  little  capa- 
ble the  simple  laity  were  of  comprehending  all  this,  and  how  much  the 
purity  of  faith  among  them  must  accordingly  suffer  injury  or  be  dis- 
turbed thereby.  Hence  he  remarks  :  "  Teachers  say  a  great  deal  in 
the  schools,  which  ought  never  to  be  so  preached  before  the  common 
people ;  though  holy  church  has  tolerated  images  and  figures,  and 
teaches  that  they  may  be  venerated,  yet  she  has  never  taught  that 
they  should  be  prayed  to  or  adored."  Then,  after  having  shown  the 
corrupting  iutluence  of  an  extravagant  image-worship  on  the  religious 
life,  and  of  the  custom  of  extolling  the  miracles  wrought  by  them,  he 
remarks :  "  Yet  there  are  at  the  present  day  many  great  and  famous 
men  who  hold  that  such  things  are  of  use  to  the  simple  ;  nay,  that  it  is 
useful  to  preach  such  things,  because  men  should  piously  believe,  that 

20* 


234  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

such  things  are  of  God.  God,  then,  according  to  what  they  affirm, 
has,  in  these  times,  passed  by  his  saints  and  his  chosen,  and  turned 
his  regard  to  images  of  stone.  And  as  God  has  ceased  to  perform  his 
wonders  in  his  own  name  and  by  his  word,  he  now  works  them  through 
wood  and  stone.1  Or  does  a  holy  and  faithful  God,  perhaps,  display 
his  power  by  these  images  and  other  such  lifeless  things  ?  And  would 
he  thus  by  making  that  power  depend  on  such  images,  secure  an  en- 
trance among  his  christian  people  for  the  idolatry  of  the  pagans  ?  Or 
would  he,  by  this,  show  favor  to  Satan,  that  the  latter  making  himself 
like  God,  might,  by  lying  works,  be  able  to  appropriate  divine  honors 
to  himself?  Or  is  it  perhaps  permitted  the  great  enemy,  in  punish- 
ment of  unthankful  Christians,  to  enter  into  all  forms  of  seduction  and 
falsehood,  carrying  out  through  the  instrumentality  of  men  that  seem 
to  others  very  pious  and  holy,  but  are  not  so  in  fact,  his  work  of 
seduction  by  performing  his  signs  and  wonders  through  them  ?  They 
have  decided  and  ordained  by  synodal  decree  that  it  should  be  preach- 
ed to  the  people  that  they  ought  piously  to  believe  a  divine  power 
resides  in  wooden  images,  and  painted  canvas."  And  he  goes  on  to 
say  :  "  Who  can  fail  to  perceive,  how  corrupting  this  must  be  to  the 
rude  and  sensuous  people,  when  he  but  considers  that  the  people  of 
the  laity  at  the  present  day,  who  have  not  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
are  not  at  all  able  to  rise  in  spirit  to  spiritual  things !  "  And  he 
adds :  Because  some  preachers  of  the  church  of  Christ  and  of  his 
cross,  have  not  disputed  the  propriety  of  the  thing  in  general,  that 
men  should  have  images,  but  have  attacked  by  sound  christian  doc- 
trine the  fables  and  inventions  of  men  and  the  deceptions  of  certain 
individuals,2  therefore  the  above  mentioned  men  of  wisdom  have  assail- 
ed these  preachers,  held  them  up  to  public  scorn,  and  sought  in  every 
way  to  compel  them  to  utter  falsehood ;  3  then  they  have  taken  advan- 
tage of  their  silence  for  the  present  to  circulate  these  stories,  the  truth 
of  Christ  being  thus  trampled  under  foot.*  "  How  then  can  that  man 
—  he  says  —  who  sees  that  the  truth  stands  thus,  and  judges  correct- 
ly of  individual  facts,  say  or  believe  otherwise  than  that  those  times 
of  Antichrist  are  at  hand,  when  he  finds  that  such  an  ordinance  has 
resulted  from  the  long  deliberation  of  our  wise  men,  teachers  and  doc- 
tors of  theology  and  of  the  canon  law,  in  a  solemn  and  famous  assem- 
bly ?  Hence  not  a  man  was  found  among  them,  to  stand  forth  inge- 
nuously in  defence  of  the  truth."  "All  that  now  remains  for  us  — 
he  says  —  is  to  desire  and  pray  for  reform  by  the  destruction  of  Anti- 
christ himself,  and  to  lift  up  our  heads,  for  our  redemption  draweth 
nigh."     He  remarks,  again,  about  that  synod  of  Prague,  that  the 

1  Igiturnc  propterea,  quod  cessavit  do-  3  Mox  hi  praefati  sapientes,  comprehen- 
minus  Jesus  rairacula  et  virtutes  suas  in  sis  ipsis  praedicatoribus,  eosdem  ludibrio 
nomine  suo  et  per  verbuin  operari,  jam  per  publice  expositos  omnibus  modis  ipsos 
lapides  et  ligna  operatur  ?  mentiri  compellere  sunt  conati. 

2  Quibusdam  praedicatoribus  ecclesiae  4  Dehinc  silentium  ipsis  pro  tempore 
Christi  et  ejus  crucis,  eo  quod  non  qui-  posuerunt,  ut  proinde  tabulae  supra  de- 
deni  imagines  habendas,  sed  fabulas  et  scriptae  promotionem  habeant  et  proces- 
talia  rictitia  hominum  atque  deceptiones  sum,  veritate  Christi  Jesu  siccine  in  platea 
quorundam  sunt  aggressi  impugnandum  corruente. 

per  doctrinam  sanam  Christi. 


MATTHIAS    OF   JANOW. — JOHN   HUSS.  235 

masters  who  endeavored  to  draw  away  the  laity  from  the  frequent 
participation  of  the  Lord's  supper,  had,  in  fact  forbidden  by  a  synodal 
decree  that  this  sacrament  should  be  given  to  the  faithful  who  de- 
manded it,  oftener  than  once  a  month.  These  are  his  words  :  "  Alas  ! 
for  myself,  they  have  forced  me  by  their  importunate  clamor  at  that 
synod  to  agree  that  the  faithful  generally  should  not  be  invited  to 
daily  communion." 

2.  John  ITuss,  the  Bohemian  Reformer. 

Next  after  these  reformers,  or  men  inspired  with  the  spirit  of  re- 
form, came  the  individual  through  whose  instrumentality  it  was  that  the 
more  general  and  violent  movement  for  which  the  way  had  thus  been 
prepared  broke  forth,  in  Bohemia. 

John  Huss  was  born,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1369,  at  Hussinetz,  a  Bo- 
hemian village  lying  within  the  circle  of  Prachim  and  towards  the  bor- 
ders of  Bavaria.  Descended  from  a  poor  family,  he  was  early  inured 
to  labor  and  deprivation,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  those  Chris- 
tian virtues,  which  afterwards  distinguished  him.  He  studied  philoso- 
phy and  theology  at  the  university  of  Prague.  This  university,  it  is 
true,  was  a  seat  of  churchly  orthodoxy  ;  but  at  the  same  time  the  an- 
tagonistic tendencies  of  two  different  nationalities  seem  already  to  have 
begun  there  gradually  to  unfold  themselves  —  the  strict  church  tendency 
of  the  Germans,  as  opposed  to  the  more  liberal  one  of  the  Bohemians. 
The  teacher  of  Huss,  Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  belonged  to  the  more  liberal 
party,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  In  the  year  1396,  Huss  received  his 
master's  degree,  and  began  himself  to  lecture,  at  the  university,  in  the 
year  1398.  A  man,  however,  of  his  Christian  seriousness  and  deep- 
seated  piety,  must  certainly  have  felt  himself  shocked  and  repelled  by 
the  worldly  lives  of  the  degenerate  Bohemian  clergy  and  monks,  and 
driven,  in  this  way,  into  a  more  confirmed  habit  of  communing  with  him- 
self and  seeking  after  God.  We  have  seen  indeed  how,  ever  since  the 
times  of  John  Militz,  an  opposition  had  been  springing  up  between  the 
great  majority  of  worldly  priests  and  a  smaller  company  earnestly  de- 
voted to  their  holy  vocation  and  to  the  cause  of  God  among  the  Bohe- 
mian clergy.  We  have  seen  how  Militz  gave  birth  to  a  tendency  that 
connected  itself  more  closely  with  the  New  Testament,  and  how,  in 
particular,  Matthias  of  Janow  directed  attention  to  the  apostolical 
church,  and  to  a  reform  after  the  pattern  of  that  church.  Huss  could 
not  have  remained  unaffected  by  such  influences.  Between  the  two 
parties,  then  already  struggling  with  each  other  in  Bohemia,  he  must 
soon  have  made  his  choice.  The  influence  of  Matthias  of  Janow's 
writings  on  his  direction  as  a  theologian,  is  not  to  be  mistaken.  A  cir- 
cumstance which  had  much  to  do  in  moulding  the  religious  character 
of  Huss,  and  in  beating  the  path  for  his  active  labors  as  a  reformer,  was 
his  call  to  discharge  the  spiritual  office  in  a  sphere  where  he  could  ob- 
tain a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  religious  needs  of  the  people, 
and  was  brought  into  more  immediate  and  living  contact  with  them. 
In  the  year  1391,  John  of  Milheim,  a  member  of  the  royal  council  of 


236  HISTORY   OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

Bohemia,  and  Creutz,  a  merchant  (the  latter  of  whom  gave  the  real 
estate,  a  house  which  belonged  to  him,  for  the  object),  associated  for 
the  purpose  of  founding  a  chapel,  to  be  devoted  particularly  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  for  the  benefit  of  the  peo- 
ple. We  have  an  example,  here,  of  that  practical  christian  spirit  which, 
since  the  time  of  Militz's  labors,  had  been  awakened  among  the  laity 
in  Bohemia,  and  to  the  existence  of  which  Matthias  of  Janow  bore  his 
testimony,  as  we  have  seen.  This  spirit  is  also  evidenced,  in  a  remarka- 
ble manner,  in  the  original  title-deed  of  the  foundation,  which  runs  as 
follows :  "  The  merciful  God,  who  in  the  seed  of  his  word  has  left  be- 
hind him  a  provision  for  them  that  fear  him,  so  ordered  it,  by  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  fathers,  that  the  preaching  of  God's  word  should  not  be 
bound,  it  being  the  freest  as  it  is  the  most  profitable  act  for  the  church 
and  her  members:"  and  then,  after  appealing  for  proof  to  Christ's 
words,  the  founder  goes  on  to  say  :  "  For  had  he  not  bequeathed  to  us 
the  seed  of  God's  word  and  of  holy  preaching,  we  should  have  been 
like  unto  Sodom  and  Gomorrha.  Christ  moreover  had  given  commis- 
sion to  his  disciples,  when  he  appeared  to  them  after  his  resurrection, 
to  preach  the  word,  so  as  to  preserve  constantly  in  the  world  the  living 
memory  of  himself.  But  since  all  his  actions  are  doctrines  to  them  that 
truly  believe  on  him,  he  (the  founder)  had  carefully  considered  that 
the  city  of  Prague,  though  possessing  many  places  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  God  and  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes  connected  with  that 
worship,  was  still  destitute  of  a  place  devoted  especially  to  preaching ; 
but  preachers,  particularly  in  the  Bohemian  tongue,  were  under  the  dis- 
agreeable necessity  of  strolling  about  for  this  purpose,  to  houses  and 
corners ;  therefore  the  founder  endowed  a  chapel  consecrated  to  the 
Innocents,  and  named  '  Bethlehem,'  or  the  House  of  Bread,  for  the  use 
of  the  common  people,  that  they  might  be  refreshed  with  the  bread  of 
holy  preaching.1  Over  this  church  a  preacher  was  to  be  placed  as  rec- 
tor, whose  special  duty  it  should  be,  to  hold  forth  the  word  of  God,  on 
every  Sunday  and  festival  day,  in  the  Bohemian  tongue.2  It  is  a 
proof  of  the  high  reputation  in  which  Huss  already  stood,  and  of  the 
expectations  excited  by  the  peculiar  bent  of  his  religious  character,  that 
in  the  year  1401  he  should  be  appointed  the  preacher  over  this  founda- 
tion. His  sermons,  glowing  with  all  that  fervor  of  love  from  which  they 
proceeded,  and  backed  up  by  a  pious,  exemplary  life,  coupled  with  gen- 
tle and  amiable  manners,  made  a  powerful  impression.  A  little  com- 
munity gathered  around  him,  of  warm  and  devoted  friends ;  and  a 
new  Christian  life  started  forth,  from  him,  among  the  people.  He  be- 
came more  intimately  acquainted,  as  a  curer  of  souls  to  the  lower  class* 

'  Quam  Bethlehem,  quod  interpretatur  nus  ad  sonum  campanum  diebus  singulis 

domus  panis,  censui  appellandara  hac  cou-  ab  ecclesia  celebribus  mane  et  facto  pran- 

sideratione,  ut  ibidem  populus  communis  dio,  et  tempore  adventus  et  quadragesimae 

et  Christi  ridcles  pane  praedicationis  sane-  mane  tantum  horis  solitis,  et  prout  in  aliis 

tae  refici  debeant.    See  Pelzel,  account  of  ecclesiis  praedicari  est  consuetum,  verbum 

the    Life  of    King   Wenceslaus,   Prague,  dei  communi  populo  civitatis  in  vulgari 

1788;  Document  No.  81,  p.  103.  Bohemico  sit  ad  praedicandum  astrictus. 

2  Words  of  tbe   Record  of  foundation  Pag.  105. 
respecting  his  duties :   Ut  dictus  capella- 


HUSS   PLACED   AS   PREACHER   AT   BETHLEHEM   CHAPEL.  237 

of  the  people,  with  the  corrupting  influence  of  a  religion  reduced  en- 
tirely to  a  round  of  outward  ceremonies,  and  of  the  superstition  which 
gave  countenance  and  support  to  immorality,  and  was  thus  led  to  attack  the 
sources  of  so  much  mischief,  to  dwell  with  increasing  earnestness  upon 
the  essence  of  a  practical  Christianity,  bringing  forth  its  fruits  from  a 
principle  seated  in  the  heart,  and  to  rebuke  with  emphatic  severity  the 
prevailing  vices.  So  long  as  he  chiefly  attacked  the  corruption  among 
the  laity,  he  was  left  unmolested.  The  new  archbishop  of  Prague, 
Zbynek  of  Hasenburg,  appointed  to  that  office  in  the  year  1403,  was 
not  himself,  by  any  means,  a  man  of  purely  spiritual  bent,  but  one  ac- 
customed to  mingle  freely  in  secular  affairs,  and  even  to  take  a  part  in 
warlike  enterprizes  ;  yet  he  was  opposed  to  ecclesiastical  abuses,  and  to 
the  superstition  therewith  connected.  He  was  desirous  of  introducing  a 
stricter  discipline  into  his  diocese,  and  he  must  have  had  some  knowl- 
edge of  Huss,  and  have  esteemed  him  as  a  zealous  reformer  ;  for,  in  en- 
tering upon  his  duties  as  archbishop,  he  invited  Huss  to  give  him  direct 
information  of  all  the  abuses  which  came  under  his  personal  observa- 
tion ;  or,  if  he  should  not  happen  to  be  in  Prague,  to  inform  him  by 
letter.1  Accordingly  he  availed  himself  of  the  assistance  and  advice 
of  Huss  in  an  important  transaction  which  took  place  soon  after  his  en- 
trance upon  office,  the  object  of  which  was  to  suppress  a  certain  super- 
stition and  the  abuses  which  had  grown  out  of  it.  The  matter  was  of 
this  sort :  at  Wilsnack,  in  the  district  of  Priegnitz,  a  church  had  been 
destroyed  by  a  knight  some  time  in  the  fourteenth  century.  Part  of  a 
stone  altar  had  been  left  standing.  In  one  of  its  cavities  were  found 
three  wafers,  colored  red,  as  if  with  blood  ;  a  phenomenon  the  like  of 
which  has  often  occurred  from  the  earliest  times,  and  which  has  as  of- 
ten, under  various  religions,  been  construed  into  the  miraculous ;  but  a 
phenomenon  satisfactorily  explained  by  more  recent  investigations  into 
natural  causes,  it  being  now  well  known  that  bread  and  similar  sub- 
stances, long  exposed  to  moisture,  are  wont  to  be  covered  with  an  animal 
product,  the  constituent  parts  of  which  are  discernible  only  under  the 
microscope,  but  which  to  the  naked  eye  bears  a  close  resemblance  to 
blood.2  But  in  these  times,  the  remarkable  appearance  was  regarded 
as  a  symbol  of  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  report  of  so  extraordinary  a 
miracle  created  a  great  sensation  :  stories  were  soon  circulated,  of  won- 
derful cures  performed  on  the  spot ;  numerous  pilgrimages  were  made 
to  it  from  Denmark,  Sweden,  Norway,  Hungary,  Poland,  and  Bohe- 
mia. Various  tricks  would  naturally  be  resorted  to,  in  that  age,  by  the 
corrupt  clergy  and  monks,  to  help  on  the  self-deception,  which  could 
hot  fail  to  be  attended  with  great  mischief  to  the  religious  and  moral 

1  This  is  evident  from  a  letter  written  sentia  per  literam    defectum    hujusmodi 

by  Huss  to  this  archbishop   at  the  time  nuntiarem.     This  fragment  of  the  letter 

when  a  rupture  had  already  taken  place  was  first  published  by  the  Bohemian  his- 

between  the  two  men,  in  which  he  adverts  torian,  Palacky,  in  his  History  of  Bohemia, 

to  the  invitation  then  given  to  him.     His  III.     1  p.  216. 

words   are:    Saepissime  reitero,   qualiter  2  See  the  Extract  from  Ehrenberg's  pa- 
in  principio  vestri  regiminis   mihi  pro  re-  per  on  the  Monas  prodigiosa  in  the  month- 
gula  patemitas  vestra  instituerat,  ut  quot-  ly  report  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  in 
iescunque  aliquem  defectum  erga  regimen  Berlin,  for  October,  1848. 
conspicciem,  mox  personaliter  aut  in  ab- 


238  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

life  of  the  people.  Archbishop  Zbynek  appointed,  therefore,  a  commit- 
tee of  three  masters  to  inquire  into  the  matter ;  and  as  their  report 
was  unfavorable  to  the  pilgrims,  the  spurious  character  of  those  pre- 
tended miracles  having  been  exposed,  Zbynek  put  forth  an  order  pro- 
hibiting all  such  pilgrimages  from  his  own  diocese.  One  of  these  masters 
was  Huss,  who  probably  had  great  influence  in  bringing  about  the  de- 
cision.1 This  was  his  first  opportunity  of  standing  forth  publicly  against 
superstition,  and  it  was  done  under  the  authority  of  the  archbishop 
himself.  He  composed,  on  this  occasion,  his  paper  on  the  proper  mode 
of  regarding  the  glorified  blood  of  Christ.2  In  this  tract  it  is  very  evi- 
dent that  he  was  still  entirely  given  to  the  prevailing  doctrines  of  the 
church,  even  on  the  article  of  transubstantiation  ;  but  he  ventured  al- 
ready to  call  in  question  the  stories  generally  believed  since  the  time 
of  Paschasias  Radbert,  relative  to  the  miraculous  appearances  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  We  already  find  in  him  a  representative  of 
the  genuine  Christian  spirit,  as  opposed  to  the  miracle-hunting  spirit 
of  his  age.  "  The  glorified  body  of  Christ  —  he  says  —  exists  dimen- 
sionally  in  heaven  alone,  though  truly  and  really  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  altar.  Nothing  that  belonged  to  this  body  could  be  separated 
from  it  and  present,  by  itself,  alone  upon  earth.  All  that  is  said,  there- 
fore, about  relics  of  Christ's  body,  or  of  his  blood,  as  being  present  in 
this  place  or  that,  must  be  false.  He  who  pretends  to  believe  anything 
of  this  sort,  dishonors  the  blood  of  Christ,  no  less  than  if  he  worship- 
ped, under  that  name,  the  blood  of  a  dead  horse.  But  alas! — he 
says  —  the  iniquity  of  greedy  ecclesiastics  has  increased  to  such  extent 
that  messengers  of  Antichrist,  following  their  master  the  devil,  have 
exhibited  their  own  blood  as  the  blood  of  Christ,  at  the  eucharist,  and 
the  same  is  adored  by  foolish  and  unbelieving  Christians,  who  unbeliev- 
ingly seek  after  wonders."  He  calls  those  who  were  seeking  after  such 
wonders,  more  unbelieving  than  Thomas,  because  though  after  the  Lord 
had  shown  himself  to  the  unbelieving  Thomas  he  believed,  they  would 
not  believe  on  him  even  when  glorified  and  exalted  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  but  required  sensible  signs  of  his  presence.  Christ  was 
now  hidden  from  sight,  present  only  to  faith  ;  this  constituted  the  es- 
sence of  faith,  the  meritum  fidei,  that  it  takes  hold  of  things  hidden,  in- 
visible ;  this  was  therefore  more  wholesome  and  conducive  to  the  life  of 
religion  than  if  the  blood  of  Christ  were  visibly  present.  We  ought 
confidently  to  believe  that  if  it  had  been  better  for  us  to  see  Christ 
bodily  present  among  us,  he  would  not  have  deprived  us  of  this  privi- 
lege. But  because  faith  would  be  destitute  of  merit,  if  accompanied 
with  the  experience  of  sense,  therefore  Christ  with  his  blood  has  been 
pleased  to  withdraw  himself  from  our  sight.  He  applies  to  his  contempo- 
raries what  St.  Paul  says  of  the  sign-seeking  spirit  of  the  Jews,  to  whom 
Christ  crucified  was  a  stumbling  block.     Like  Matthias  of  Janow,  he  is 

1  Huss  himself  mentions  this  commis-  *    Determinatio    quaestionis.    cum    suo 

sion  :    Etiam  fuimus  tres  magistri  deputa-  traetatulo  de  omni  sanguine  'Christi  glo- 

ti  per  dominum  archiepiscopum  ad  exam-  rificato.      Joannis    Hus  opera,  Norimberg 

inandum  homines,  de  quibus  praedicabant  1558,  torn.  I,  fol.  154  pag.  2  sq. 
fuisse  facta  miracula.     .Fol.  162,  2. 


HUSS  ON  THE  WILSNACK  MIRACLE.  289 

inclined  to  attribute  the  miracles  with  which  the  wicked  clergy  sought 
to  delude  the  people,  to  evil  spirits.  The  laity,  by  their  confidence  in 
such  miracles,  were  drawn  away  from  the  essential  thing,  true  love, 
and  hardened  in  their  sins.  Like  Matthias  of  Janow,  he  applies  the 
words  of  Christ  to  those  that  would  say,  Lo  !  here  is  Christ,  or  there, 
to  those  who  said,  The  blood  of  Christ  is  here,  or  it  is  there  ;  they 
were  not  to  be  believed.  Like  Matthias  of  Janow,  he  looks  upon  those 
pious  frauds  by  which  the  laity  were  led  astray,  as  the  present  secretly- 
working  power  of  Antichrist,  and  applies  to  them  what  St.  Paul,  in  the 
epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  says  of  the  workings  of  Antichrist.  The 
faithful  should,  in  a  proper  way,  use  all  diligence  to  live  simply  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  the  gospel,  and  put  no  faith  in  fables  and  lying  won- 
ders, or  wonders  actually  wrought  by  evil  spirits  or  wicked  men.  Thus 
would  they,  in  a  more  quiet  manner,  grow  confirmed  in  the  faith  of  the 
Lord.  Such  miracles  rendered  it  the  more  necessary  for  each  individ- 
ual to  fortify  himself  with  the  word  of  God,  so  as  to  avoid  being  deceived 
by  false  prophets  and  false  Messiahs,  whose  appearance  Christ  foretold. 
He  cites  one  example  of  fraud  :  A  citizen  of  Prague,  with  a  lame  hand, 
had  hung  up  a  silver  hand  as  a  votive  offering,  in  honor  of  the  bloody 
wafers  in  Wilsnack.  Wishing,  however,  to  test  the  honesty  of  the  priests, 
he  staid  three  days  in  the  place ;  but  before  the  time  expired,  he  must 
hear  how  a  priest  had  publicly  referred  to  this  offering  of  the  silver 
hand,  as  a  proof  of  the  miraculous  cure  of  the  lame  one.  The  citizen 
of  Prague  convicted  him  of  the  falsehood  by  showing  his  hand,  which 
remained  as  lame  as  ever.  And  for  the  truth  of  this  statement,  Huss 
appeals  to  the  testimony  of  many  who  knew  the  person  referred  to. 
"  Truly  —  he  says  —  if  the  priests  faithfully  observed  Christ's  evangeli- 
cal counsel  and  preached  Christ's  words  to  the  people,  rather  than  ly- 
ing wonders,  our  gracious  Saviour  would  guide  the  steps  of  both  priests 
and  people  out  of  the  bad  way,  the  way  of  sin  and  falsehood."  He 
complains  that,  in  their  distresses,  people  were  more  inclined  to  invoke 
help  from  the  blood  of  Christ,  than  from  God,  and  to  place  their  hopes 
upon  a  mere  creature  than  upon  the  Creator.  Even  now,  says  he,  it 
is  not  easy  to  find  a  district  which  is  not  famous  for  some  appearance 
of  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  worst  transgressors,  robbers  and  the  like, 
were  made  to  feel  secure  in  sin  by  their  confidence  in  such  blood,  and 
these  were  the  best  patrons  and  friends  of  this  miraculous  blood,  though 
they  persecuted  Christ  himself,  and  unrighteously  shed  his  blood,  in  his 
members. 

The  archbishop  had  directed  the  curates  to  announce  on  every 
Sunday  that  the  pilgrimage  to  Wilsnack  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  the 
ban. 

But  though  the  young  archbishop  stood  at  the  beginning  on  these 
friendly  terms  with  Huss,  still  we  might  be  led  to  presume  from  the 
different  spirit  of  the  two  men,  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to 
unite  their  efforts  in  promoting  reform  except  to  a  certain  extent,  and 
that  an  occasion  might  easily  arise  in  which  this  internal  opposition 
would  be  forced  to  show  itself  by  some  outward  manifestation.  It 
was  impossible  that  Huss,  with  the  spirit  of  reform  by  which  he  was 


240  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

actuated,  should  stop  short  at  the  bounds  -which  the  archbishop  from 
the  position  which  he  occupied  would  be  apt  to  prescribe  to  himself. 
In  connection  with  the  antagonism  of  the  reform  and  anti-reform  ten- 
dencies existing  in  the  movements  of  the  time,  it  would  not  be  long 
before  such  an  occasion  must  present  itself.  Aside  from  the  political 
interests,  which  afterwards  became  mixed  in,  Huss  could  not  fail  in 
the  end  to  be  involved  by  his  very  principles  of  reform,  which  led 
him  farther  than  he  could  calculate  upon,  in  a  quarrel  with  the  arch- 
bishop. For  Huss,  who  was  governed  solely  by  the  religious  inter- 
est, would  be  continually  led  by  it  to  take  one  step  after  another  in 
his  attacks  on  the  corruption  of  the  church ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand, 
Zbynek  was  induced  by  reasons  of  policy  to  stop  short,  as  soon  as  he 
had  any  grounds  to  apprehend  that  he  was  coming  into  conflict  with 
the  hierarchical  system.  Huss  needed  no  excitement  from  without  to 
keep  his  zeal  for  reform  in  vigorous  activity.  One  thing,  moreover, 
which  must  have  had  great  influence  in  giving  the  turn  to  his  theolo- 
gical development,  was,  that  he  had  diligently  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  of  the  old  church  fathers,  particularly  Augustin,  in 
whose  writings  he  seems  to  have  been  deeply  read,  and  of  Robert  of 
Lincoln;  —  of  all  which  we  have  abundant  evidence  in  his  writings. 
In  the  ideas  thrown  out  by  Matthias  of  Janow,  the  needful  matter  had 
already  been  supplied ;  and  from  these  alone,  without  any  additional 
influence  from  Wicklif,  a  contest  might  in  these  times  easily  evolve 
itself,  capable  of  being  pushed  to  any  extreme  by  the  opposition  of  the 
great  anti-reform  party.  Whatever  lies  involved  in  principles  that 
have  once  found  entrance  into  human  consciousness,  is  ever  shaped 
forth  and  carried  still  further  out  by  the  movements  of  history.  We 
find  in  the  principles  of  Janow  the  incipient  germ  of  the  whole  reform 
movement  in  Bohemia ;  and  it  might  have  remained  wholly  national, 
wholly  independent  of  the  English  spirit.  And,  in  fact,  we  may 
constantly  observe  this  difference,  that,  in  the  theology  of  Oxford,  the 
speculative  spirit  was  the  predominant  one  ;  while  the  Bohemian  re- 
form, from  those  first  promoters  and  representatives  of  it,  whose  char- 
acters we  have  already  described,  had  taken  an  altogether  practical 
direction.  It  is  true,  that  so  far  as  it  regards  the  consequences  which 
outwardly  manifested  themselves  at  first,  it  had  great  influence,  as 
will  hereafter  appear,  that  the  reform  spirit  in  Prague  stood  in  some 
connection  with  the  opinions  of  Wicklif,  denounced  as  heretical.  The 
reform  movements  in  Bohemia  would  not,  perhaps,  separated  from  this 
connection,  have  risen  so  suddenly  to  so  great  importance  ;  still  we 
cannot  on  this  account  agree  with  those  who  ascribe  to  Wicklif 's  writ- 
ings so  great  an  influence  on  the  development  of  the  reform  opposition 
to  the  hierarchy  in  Bohemia.  It  is,  moreover,  of  great  importance 
here,  to  anything  like  a  right  understanding  of  the  phenomena  of  the 
religious  and  theological  spirit,  to  distinguish  well  internal  and  ex- 
ternal causes,  internal  and  external  connections.  And  if,  on  the  one 
hand,  through  the  influence  of  Wicklif 's  writings,  and  the  connection 
of  the  movements  originating  with  Huss  with  those  excited  by  Wicklif, 
the  position  of  the  reform  party  in  Bohemia  afterwards  became  a 


HUSS  AND   WICKLIF.  241 

dangerous  one,  still  we  must  consider,  on  the  other  hand,  that  it  was 
precisely  owing  to  the  way  in  which  Huss  connected  himself  with 
Wicklif,  that  a  large  number  of  friends  and  adherents  were  procured 
for  him  at  the  outset,  whom  he  could  hardly  have  gained  by  the  pure- 
ly reform  and  anti-hierarchical  interest;  —  friends,  indeed,  who,  for 
the  very  reason  that  they  did  not  sympathize  at  all  with  the  interest 
for  a  purely  Christian  reform  which  actuated  Huss  from  the  begin- 
ning, did  not  harmonize  with  him  in  temper  and  spirit,  and  would  on 
that  very  account  be  soon  led  to  separate  from  him,  and  even  to  come 
out  against  him.  Only  so  long  as  it  was  an  affair  of  the  school,  and 
particularly  of  the  philosophical  school,  and  this  affair  was  treated  as  a 
common  cause  of  the  nation,  could  they  remain  connected  with  him ; 
but  this  very  circumstance  which,  at  the  outset,  gave  to  the  party  of 
Huss  so  great  an  ascendancy  at  Prague  university,  could  not  have 
existed  independently  of  the  connection  between  the  reform  tendency  in 
Bohemia  and  the  cause  of  Wicklif 's-  school ;  as  will  be  apparent  from 
the  facts  now  to  be  presented. 

A  Bohemian  princess,  Anna,  sister  to  King  Wenceslaus,  had  mar- 
ried Richard  II,  king  of  England.1  This  would  of  course  lead  the 
way  to  a  more  familiar  intercourse  between  the  two  nations ;  and  the 
disciples  of  Wicklif  who  were  enthusiastic  in  their  endeavors  to  diffuse 
the  writings,  the  philosophical  and  theological  doctrines  of  their  mas- 
ter, would  assuredly  not  fail  to  take  advantage  of  such  an  opening  for 
this  purpose.  The  connection  also  between  the  two  flourishing  univer- 
sities, which  doubtless  independently  of  this  event,  was  a  lively  one, 
would  be  still  more  promoted  by  it.  Young  English  theologians  came 
from  Oxford  -to  Prague.  Bohemians  studied  in  Oxford,  and  were 
there  seized  with  enthusiasm  for  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif ;  though  we 
should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  Wicklif  was  not  merely  the 
representative  of  a  particular  theological  bent,  but  also  by  philosoph- 
ical writings,  having  no  connection  whatever  with  the  theological  in- 
terest, and  particularly  by  his  work  already  mentioned,  which  created 
an  epoch  of  its  own,  the  treatise  on  the  reality  of  general  conceptions, 
was  one  of  the  most  important  representatives  of  the  philosophical 
school  of  realism  ;  and,  though  with  him,  as  we  have  seen,  the  philo- 
sophical and  theological  interest,  philosophical  and  theological  princi- 
ples were  intimately  connected,  yet  this  was  not  at  all  a  necessary 
connection  in  itself;  and  one  might  adopt  the  philosophical  opinions 
of  Wicklif,  esteem  him  highly  as  a  philosopher,  without  agreeing  with 
him  on  that  account  in  his  theological  views.  From  this  it  is  the 
more  easily  to  be  explained  how  Wicklif 's  writings  might  already  for 
a  long  time  have  been  considerably  read  at  the  University  of  Prague, 
without  creating  any  ecclesiastical  movements  whatever,  or  rendering 
the  orthodoxy  of  those  persons  suspected,  who  occupied  themselves 
with  the  study  of  certain  writings  of  Wicklif.     Huss  himself  declares 

1  She  was  in   the  habit  of  reading  the    tin,    German,    and    Bohemian    tongue* 
New  Testament ;  and  carried  with  her  to     Comp.  Palacky  III.     1  p.  24. 
England  a  book  of  the  gospels  in  the  La- 

VOL.    V.  21 


242  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

in  a  paper  composed  about  the  year  1411,1  that  for  thirty  years,  there- 
fore from  the  year  1381,  writings  of  Wieklif  were  read  at  Prague 
university,  and  that  he  himself  had  been  in  the  habit  of  reading  them 
for  more  than  20  years,  that  is,  before  the  year  1391.2 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  spread  of  Wieklif  'a 
writings  in  Prague  fell  within  the  last  years  of  the  life  of  Matthias  of 
Janow ;  yet,  although  traces  perhaps  of  a  reference  to  doctrines  of 
Wieklif  may  be  discovered  in  his  work  already  noticed,  still  he  must 
have  occupied  himself  but  very  little  with  them,  and  they  must  have 
exercised  little  or  no  particular  influence  on  his  mind.  He  pursued 
his  course  after  an  independent  manner  in  the  path  to  which  the  sug- 
gestions that  came  originally  from  Militz  had  conducted  him.  But 
Huss,  as  we  may  gather  with  certainty  from  his  own  language  already 
cited,  had  at  a  very  early  period  read  many  of  Wicklif's  writings. 
What  attracted  him  in  these  writings  was  partly  the  philosophical  real- 
ism, partly  the  spirit  of  reform  as  opposed  to  the  secularization  of  the 
church,  of  the  monastic  orders,  and  of  the  clergy,  which  they  contain- 
ed, and  that  inclination  to  adhere  to  the  New  Testament  as  the  only 
source  of  doctrine,  the  striving  after  a  renovation  of  the  Christian  life 
in  the  sense  of  apostolical  Christianity.  Let  us  hear  the  words  of 
Huss  himself  on  this  point:  "  I  am  drawn  to  him  —  he  says  —  by  the 
reputation  he  enjoys  with  the  good,  not  the  bad  priests  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  and  generally  with  the  people,  though  not  with  the 
bad,  covetous,  pomp-loving,  dissipated  prelates  and  priests.  I  am 
attracted  by  his  writings,  in  which  he  expends  every  effort  to  conduct 
all  men  back  to  the  law  of  Christ,  and  especially  the  clergy,  inviting 
them  to  let.  go  the  pomp  and  dominion  of  the  world  and  live  with  the 
apostles  according  to  the  life  of  Christ.  I  am  attracted  by  the  love 
which  he  had  for  the  law  of  Christ,  maintaining  its  truth  and  holding 
that  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  it  could  fail."  3  He  mentions  here  in  par- 
ticular for  illustration  the  book  composed  by  Wieklif,  on  the  truth  of 
Holy  Scripture,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  establish  the  validity  of 
the  law  of  Christ  in  its  whole  extent.  And  'he  then  adverts  to  the 
fact  that  many  of  Wicklif's  writings  were  on  purely  philosophical  sub- 
jects, which,  as  they  did  not  at  all  affect  the  truths  of  faith,  could  be 
read  without  danger.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  Huss  agreed  with 
Wieklif  only  up  to  that  point  to  which  his  interest  for  reform  had 
already  led  him  in  following  the  steps  of  Matthias  of  Janow.  To 
Wieklif,  as  we  have  seen,  his  attack  on  the  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion,  and  his  peculiar  views  of  the  Lord's  supper,  were  of  especial 
importance  ;  but  we  do  not  perceive  that  these  had  had  any  particular 
influence  on  Huss.     On  this  matter  he  never  passed  beyond  what  was 

1  Replica  contra  Anglicum  Joannem  toto  conamine,  omnes  homines  ad  legem 
Stokes,  opp.  I,  fol.  108.  Christi  reducere,  et  clerum  praecipue,  ut 

2  Universitas  ab  annis  triginta  habet  et  dimittendo  saeculi  pompam,  domination- 
legit  lihros  ipsius  Joan.  Wicleff.  Egoque  em  vivat  cum  apostolis  vitam  Christi. 
ct  membra  nostrae  universitatis  habemus  Movet  me  afi'ectus  suus,  quem  ad  Christi 
et  legimus  illos  libros  ab  annis  viginti  et  legem  habuit,  asserens  de  veritate  ejus, 
pluribus.    Ibid.  quae  non  potest  in  uno  iota  vel  apice  f'al- 

3  Movent  me  sua  scripta,  quibus  nititur  lere.    Ibid.  fol.  1U9,  1. 


HUSS    AND    WICKLIF. 


243 


simply  practical ;  —  as  already  seen,  he  gave  special  prominence  to 
the  spiritual  fellowship  with  Christ,  to  the  truth  that  he  himself  is  the 
bread  of  the  soul,  without  entering  more  minutely  into  the  question 
about  the  relation  of  the  bread  and  wine  to  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ.'  Huss  may  have  had  the  less  hesitation  about  availing  him- 
self of  the  writings  of  Wicklif,  inasmuch  as  two  young  men  who  came 
from  Oxford  to  Prague,  —  one  an  Englishman,2  the  other  a  Bohemian, 
probably  the  Count  Nicholas  of  Faulfisch,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned, 
had  brought  with  them  a  document  authenticated  by  the  seal  of  the 
University  of  Oxford,  in  which  Wicklif 's  orthodoxy  was  duly  testified. 
Huss  is  reported  to  have  read  this  document  from  the  pulpit  to  his 
congregation  as  a  testimonial  in  favor  of  that  Wicklif  who  had  been 
denounced  as  a  heretic.  Now  it  is  evident,  we  admit,  that  such  a 
declaration  was  altogether  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  academical 
authorities  who  then  ruled  at  Oxford.  It  was  a  forgery,  to  which  the 
seal  of  the  university  had  been  fraudulently  appended  —  the  fabrica- 
tion of  false  documents  of  this  sort  being  at  that  time  no  uncommon 


1  We  find  nothing  in  the  writings  of 
Huss,  which  indicates  that,  in  respect  of 
this  doctrine,  he  had,  as  Palacky  supposes, 
(III.  l.s.  197  and  198),  through  the  influ 
ence  of  Wicklif,  been  at  least  led  to  waver, 
and  did  not,  till  a  later  period,  take  a  de- 
cidedly different  view  from  Wicklif  on  this 
point.  In  general,  we  think  we  have  not 
observed  that  Huss  allowed  himself  to  be 
determined  in  his  doctrinal  convictions  at 
first  more  and  afterwards  less  by  the  in- 
fluence of  Wicklif.  It  seems  to  us  much 
more  to  correspond  with  the  actual  course 
of  the  development  of  his  doctrinal  opin- 
ions, to  suppose  that  he  was  led  by  his 
principles  and  the  opposition  which  grew 
out  of  them,  step  by  step  farther  away 
from  the  church  tendency,  and  not  that 
he  was  more  decided  in  his  opposition  at 
the  beginning,  and  afterwards  grew  mild- 
er. Even,  on  the  occasion  of  his  trial  at 
Prague,  in  1414,  of  which  a  protocol  drawn 
up  by  Peter  of  Mladenowitz,  secretary  to 
the  Knight  of  Chlum,  has  been  published 
in  the  Studien  und  Kritiken  (Jahrg.  1837, 
Heft  1),  Huss  absolutely  repels  the  charge 
that  he  had  ever  attacked  the  doctrine  of 
tran substantiation.  Huss  here  declares 
that  he  could  not  possibly  have  spoken 
before  the  people  in  the  Bohemian  tongue 
on  the  accidentibus  sine  subjecto,  because  this 
language  contained  no  terms  whatever  by 
which  such  a  conception  could  be  express- 
ed :  but  he  had  said,  guarding  against  any 
misinterpretation  of  his  language,  that  as 
a  man's  body  is  veiled  under  his  shirt,  so 
the  body  of  Christ  is  in  a  certain  sense 
veiled  beneath  the  form  of  the  bread,  and 
as  the  soul  is  concealed  within  the  body, 
so  the  body  of  Christ  is  concealed  under 
the  figure  of  the  bread.  And  he  appeals 
for  proof  to  the  language  of  an  ancient 


hymn,  and  to  words  of  St.  Augustin,  which 
mark  a  distinction  between  that  which 
faith  perceives,  and  that  which  is  mani- 
fest to  the  senses  in  the  Lord's  supper. 
That  when  he  speaks  of  a  forma  panis,  he 
means  to  intimate  the  remaining  behind 
of  the  substance,  cannot  be  proved.  He 
affirms,  that  when  he  spoke  of  the  remain- 
ing behind  of  the  bread  in  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, he  meant  only  Christ  the  heavenly 
bread,  which  is  offered  in  the  sacrament. 
Now  we  might,  it  is  true,  suspect  that  Huss 
took  the  liberty  to  conceal  his  real  opinion 
in  this  ambiguous  phraseology,  or  that  he, 
at  a  later  period,  resorted  to  sophistical 
interpretations  of  the  language  earlier  used 
by  him ;  but  still  we  shall  find  no  ground 
whatever  to  accuse  him  of  any  such  thing. 
It  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  particulars  which 
characterize  the  practical  bent  peculiar  to 
Huss,  to  give  special  prominence  to  the 
statement  that  Christ  himself  is  the  bread 
of  the  soul  in  the  Lord's  supper,  and  if  now 
he  ever  laid  the  whole  stress  upon  this,  it 
may  have  been  interpreted  by  his  oppo- 
nents as  if  he  always  spoke  only  of  the 
bread  present  in  the  Lord's  supper.  In 
fact  we  find  that  Huss  afterwards,  in  a  pa- 
per hereafter  to  be  cited,  was  actually  un- 
der the  necessity  of  vindicating  himself 
against  such  a  perversion  of  his  language, 
and  of  explaining  his  real  meaning. 

2  We  have  taken  no  notice  of  the  story 
about  a  picture  drawn  by  the  two  English- 
men on  the  walls  of  a  room  which  they 
had  hired,  which  exhibited  the  contrast 
between  the  worldly  entrance  of  the  pope 
into  Rome,  and  the  entrance  of  Christ  into 
Jerusulem,  the  so  called  Antithesis  Christi 
et  Antichristi,  and  of  the  commotions  to 
which  it  led;  because  we  do  not  certainly 
know  that  the  narrative  of  the   Hussite 


244  HISTORY   OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

thing  at  Oxford ; '  but  it  is  certain  that  Huss  himself  was  deceived  in 
this  case ;  he  could  know  nothing  about  this  manufactory  of  false 
documents  at  Oxford,  and  his  admiration  of  Wicklif  might  in  this  case 
easily  incline  him  to  believe  without  further  examination.2  Further- 
more, the  struggle  for  and  against  Wicklif,  as  well  as  the  antagonism 
of  realism  and  nominalism  was  an  affair  of  national  interest.  Under 
the  Emperor  Charles  IV,  king  of  Bohemia,  the  founder  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Prague,  many  Germans  had  resorted  thither,  obtained  impor- 
tant posts,  and  sought  to  gain  on  their  own  side  the  greatest  influence 
at  the  university.  This  circumstance  had  excited  great  jealousy  be- 
twixt the  two  nations.  Much  enthusiasm  was  awakened  at  that  time 
among  the  Bohemians  for  the  maintenance  of  their  own  nationality  in 
language  and  literature.  Among  the  peculiar  qualities  of  Huss  be- 
longed an  ardent  love  of  his  country  and  people.  His  efforts  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  Bohemian  language  and  orthography  were  praised 
by  those  competent  to  judge,  and  his  influence  in  this  regard  is  said  to 
have  extended  even  to  other  Slavic  populations.3  Now  as  the  Ger- 
mans were  zealous  nominalists,  so  the  Bohemians,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  no  less  zealous  realists,  and  the  Bohemian  theologians  at  the 
university  were  at  first  more  inclined  to  the  freer  opinions  and  in  favor 
of  Wicklif.  It  was  the  Bohemian  theological  party  to  which  Huss 
belonged,  and  to  the  head  of  which  he  was  constantly  advancing  by 
his  zeal,  his  active  labors,  and  his  theological  culture.  His  teachers  at 
the  university  of  Prague,  Stanislaus  and  Peter  of  Znaim,  and  his  uni- 
versity friend,  Stephen  Paletz  belonged  to  this  bent,  and  followed  it 
in  their  writings  and  lectures.  Stanislaus  of  Znaim  seems  indeed  to 
have  proceeded  farther  in  the  interest  for  Wicklif  than  Huss  himself, 
in  that  he  judged  more  favorably  of  his  attack  upon  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation.  Huss  cites  the  following  words  of  Stanislaus, 
which  he  pronounced  in  his  commentary  on  the  Sentences  of  Wicklif: 
"  A  certain  teacher,  Wicklif,  in  other  things  a  profound  philosopher 
and  theologian,  delivers  this  opinion,  (which  he  cites),  and  has  pub- 
licly and  often  protested,  as  one  may  find  in  his  writings,  that  as  an 
obedient  son  of  the  church  he  is  ready  to  believe,  when  he  is  convin- 
ced, the  contrary,  nay,  if  it  be  necessary,  even  to  suffer  death  in  cor- 

historian,  Theobald,  which,  in  other  re-  ing  and  using  such  a  fraudulent  document 

spects,   contains   many  inaccurate    state-  of  Englishmen,  he  was  able  to  make  a 

ments,  is  to  be  relied  upon,  and  we  have  clear  and  simple  statement  of  the  whole 

found  in  the  writings  of  Huss  himself  no  affair  in  justification  of  his  conduct  in  the 

allusion  whatever  to  this  affair  which  he  case,  and  to  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  his 

is  said  to  have  touched  upon  in  his  ser-  earlier  like-minded  friend,  Stephen  Paletz, 

mons  at  that  time.  who  had  been  equally  deceived  with  him- 

1  The  seal  of  the  university  of  Oxford  self,  and  who  now  appeared  at  Constance 
was  much  abused  in  those  days.  Petras  as  his  accuser.  Quumque  confessus  esset, 
Paganus  or  Payne,  a  clergyman,  had  con-  propterea  quod  sub  signo  universitatis  a 
trived  to  get  it  into  his  hands,  and  used  it  duobus  scholasticis  allata  esset,  illique 
for  the  purpose  of  lending  an  appearance  etiam  de  iis  scholasticis  quaererent,  re- 
of  authenticity  to  that  paper  got  up  in  spondit :  Hie  amicus  meus  (significabat 
favor  of  Wicklif,  as  if  it  were  an  official  autem  Stephanum  Paletz)  alteram  ex  iis 
document.  See  Wood  historia  et  antiqui-  aeque  novit  atque  ego,  alter  nescio  qui 
tates  universitatis  Oxoniensis  I,  pag.  203.  fuerit.     Hermann  v.  d.  Hardt  acta  concilii 

2  When  Huss,  at  his  trial  in  Constance,  Constantiensis  torn.  IV,  pag.  328. 
on  the  8th  of  June,  was  accused  of  publish-        3  See  Palacky  HI,  1  S.  298  ff. 


HUSS   STANDING   UP   FOR   THE   BOHEMIAN   NATIONALITY.         245 

rection  of  his  error.  And  many,  who  are  less  able  to  see  than  he  is, 
denounce  him  as  a  heretic  in  this  and  other  things,  and  defame  the 
reputation  of  those  who  read  his  writings,  not  perceiving  that  among 
thorns  may  be  found  the  most  beautiful  roses,  even  though  he  may 
really  have  uttered  much  that  is  heretical."  And  the  same  teacher 
says  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  :  "  unless  a  new  determination 
of  the  church  or  a  satisfactory  argument  can  prove  this,  it  is  not 
requisite  for  the  catholic  faith  to  adopt  it."1  We  should  here  un- 
doubtedly keep  in  mind,  that  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  no 
longer,  as  in  the  earlier  centuries  of  the  middle  age,  corresponded  to* 
a  bent  of  spirit  that  ruled  the  whole  age,  and  to  a  form  of  intuition 
grounded  therein  ;  that  unembarrassed,  childlike  faith  no  longer  predo- 
minated ;  doubts  would  rise  even  in  the  minds  of  those  who  were  most 
cheerfully  disposed  to  hold  fast  in  all  things  to  the  authority  of  the 
church,  as  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  from  Duns  Scotus  onward,  a 
William  Oceum,  a  Durand,  a  Peter  d'Ailly,  themselves  had  to  ac- 
knowledge that  reason  and  scripture  would  lead  to  a  different  view,  if 
the  church  had  not  otherwise  decided.  Huss  subsequently  reproach- 
ed his  friend,  Paletz,  for  his  crab-like  movement,  and  accused  him  of 
having  changed  from  a  realist  to  a  nominalist.2  By  the  German 
party  a"  mock  mass  upon  their  Bohemian  opponents,  the  Wicklifites, 
was  got  up,  and  in  it  the  genealogy  of  Christ  was  thus  travestied  — 
Peter  of  Znaim  begat  Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  Stanislaus  begat  Stephen 
Paletz,  and  the  latter  begot  Huss,  intimating  how  Wicklifitism  had 
spread  from  one  to  the  other.3 

An  individual,  who  had  great  influence  on  the  movements  called 
forth  in  Prague  by  the  contest  for  and  against  Wicklif,  was  one  whom 
we  shall  often  have  occasion  to  mention  as  a  fellow-combatant  with  Huss, 
the  chevalier  Jerome  of  Prague.4  He  was  one  of  the  few  knights  in 
Bohemia,  distinguished  by  their  zeal  for  science  and  literary  culture.5 

1    Hus,  responsio   ad   scripta  magistri  shown  that  this  statement  has  grown  out 

Stanislaus  de  Znoyma ;  opp.  1  pag.  267  et  of  an  error,  by  which  the  Chevalier  Je- 

288.  rome  had  been  confounded  with  another 

2  Jam  te  cum  Stanislao  non  poneres  ad  less  known  zealous  friend  of  Wicklif 's 
defendendum  librum  de  universalibus  ;  doctrines  in  Prague,  the  Chevalier  Nich- 
and:  Fuistis  realistae,  cum  jam  sitis  ter-  olas  of  Faulfisch.  See  Palacky  III.  I  s. 
ministae.  Responsio  ad  scripta  Paletz;  192,  Note  245.  [Palacky  ascribes  the  er- 
opp.  I,  pag.  200.  Jam  rebus  dimissis,  con-  ror  not  to  Aeneas  Sylvius  but  to  his  read- 
versus  ea  ad  signa  vel  terminos,  retrace-  ers.    Editor.] 

dens  sicut  cancer.     Ibid.  pag.  262.  *  In  these  stirring  times    of  the  Bohe- 

3  Missa,  quam  Teutonic]  blaspheme  con-  mian  nation  there  were  some  such.  Pa- 
fiuixerant,  in  qua  per  modum  libri  gene-  lacky,  for  example,  (III,  1  p.  187),  men- 
rationis  primo  ponitur  Stanislaus,  qui  ge-  tions  the  Chevalier  Thomas  of  Stitney, 
nnit  Pet  rum  de  Znoyma,  et  Petrus  de  tbe  author  of  many  papers,  whose  most 
Znoyma  genuit  Paletz  et  Paletz  genuit  important  work  appeared  in  the  year  1374. 
Hus.    L.  c.  pag.  255,  2.  and  who  was  still  living  at  the  close  of 

4  Jerome  is  mentioned  (according  to  the  fourteenth  century.  It  characterizes 
Aeneas  Sylvius  in  his  Historia  Bohemica,  the  national  movement  in  Bohemia,  that 
cap.  XXXV,  who  describes  him  as  a  pu-  even  in  the  case  of  this  person,  a  man 
tridus  piscis  :  Turn  quod  erat  familiae  zealously  devoted  to  scientific  and  literary 
Buae  cognomen,  Putridum  piscem,  id  est,  pursuits,  the  religious  element,  as  Palacky 
foctidum  virus,  in  cives  suos  evomuit)  as  alleges,  is  the  predominant  one  in  his  writ- 
being  connected  with  the  noble  Bohemian  ings. 

family   of  Faulfisch.     But,  Palacky  has 

21* 


246  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

Jerome  of  Prague,  several  years  younger  than  Huss,  his  youthful 
friend,  stood  faithfully  by  his  side,  as  we  frequently  see  men  the  most 
widely  differing  in  character  and  in  mental  gifts,  in  times  forming  epochs 
in  the  evolution  of  the  kingdom  of  6rod,  each  supplying  the  other's  de- 
ficiencies, cooperating  and  contending  together,  as  did  afterwards  Lu- 
ther and  Melancthon,  although  the  relation  in  the  present  instance  was 
a  somewhat  different  one.  Huss,  a  man  of  more  calmness  and  discre- 
tion, of  a  character  at  once  firm  and  gentle,  more  inclined  to  modera- 
tion, possessed  of  less  numerous- and  diversified  gifts,  of  a  less  excitable 
spirit,  fonder  of  retirement  within  himself  and  silent  self-seclusion  than 
cf  mingling  in  the  busy  turmoils  of  life  —  Jerome,  full  of  life  and  ar- 
dor, of  an  enterprising  spirit,  not  disposed  to  remain  still  and  quiet  a 
long  time  in  one  place,  whom  we  find  now  in  Oxford,  next  at  Paris, 
then  at  Jerusalem,  in  Hungary,  at  Vienna,  and  in  Russia,  everywhere 
attracting  observation  and  everywhere  provoking  opposition,  a  man 
possessed  of  a  gift  of  discourse  that  bore  everything  before  it,  but  who 
in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  was  easily  led  to  pass  beyond  proper 
bounds,  one  who  needed  the  cool  considerateness  of  a  Huss  to  act  as  a 
check  on  his  activity.  Jerome  had,  in  1398,  returned  from  Oxford  to 
Prague,  and  brought  with  him  many  writings  of  Wicklif  not  before 
known,  which  he  endeavored  to  circulate  through  the  whole  country 
and  among  all  ranks  and  conditions  of  people.  He  stood  up,  with 
great  enthusiasm,  for  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif.  He  is  reported  to  have 
said  :  "  Until  now,  we  had  nothing  but  the  shell  of  science  ;  Wicklif 
first  laid  open  the  kernel." 

After  the  contest  for  and  against  Wicklif,  ever  excited  afresh  by  the 
connection  between  Oxford  and  Prague,  had  gone  on  for  a  considerable 
time  in  secret,  the  matter  finally  came  to  an  open  rupture.  At  the  re- 
quest of  the  archiepiscopal  officials  and  cathedral  chapter  of  Prague, 
a  meeting  of  the  university  was  held  on  the  28th  of  May,  1403,  and 
forty-five  propositions  ascribed  to  Wicklif  were  laid  before  that  body  for 
examination.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  it  came  to  an  open  and  violent 
struggle  between  the  Bohemian  and  the  German  party.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  the  former  in  part  defended  the  propositions  complained 
of,  and  partly  they  maintained  that  they  were  not  taught  in  the  sense 
ascribed  to  them.  In  this  assembly,  one  of  the  warm  advocates  of  Wick- 
lif's  cause  in  Bohemia,  Master  Nicholas  of  Leitomysl,  declared  that 
these  articles  had  been  falsified  by  a  certain  Master  Hubner,  who  more 
richly  deserved  to  be  burned  than  the  two  poor  fellows  who  had  been 
burned  for  counterfeiting  saffron  (an  herb  much  sought  for  and  used  in 
those  times) .  Huss  himself  declared  at  this  time,  as  ever  afterwards, 
that  he  could  not  agree  to  the  unconditional  condemnation  of  those 
propositions,  though  neither  was  he  disposed  to  defend  them  all  ;  for 
many  of  them  had  been  interpolated  by  that  Master  Hubner.  He  could 
not  join  in  any  such  condemnation,  lest  he  should  bring  on  himself  the 
woes  denounced  on  such  as  called  evil  good,  and  good  evil.1 

Also  the  teacher  of  Huss,  Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  stood  forth  at  this 

1  From  Huss's  remarks  in  the  trial  above  mentioned.     Stud.  u.  Krit.  1837,  I,  s.  132. 


THE   FORTY-FIVE   PROPOSITIONS    OF   WICKLIF.  247 

time  as  a  defender  of  the  forty-five  propositions  ;  and  Huss  notices  him 
as  the  first  who  took  up  the  word  in  defence.1  Still,  by  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  votes  on  the  side  of  the  German  nation,  the  condemnation  of 
the  forty-five  articles  was  carried  through.  According  to  the  then 
arrangements  of  the  university  of  Prague,  the  Germans,  who  kept 
firmly  united,  would,  in  all  public  meetings,  of  course  obtain  the  vic- 
tory. The  votes  were  taken  by  nations  ;  and  the  university  of  Prague 
was  divided  into  four  nations.  One  was  the  Bohemian  ;  the  three  oth- 
ers, Bavarian,  Saxon,  and  Polish,  of  which  latter,  half  were  Germans, 
namely  Silesians  Accordingly  the  Bohemians,  who  were  scarcely 
one  to  three,  must  always  succumb.  Every  victory  which  the  German 
party  won  in  this  way,  could  only  serve  to  augment  the  bitter  feeling 
of  hostility  between  the  two  nations,  and  between  the  Wicklifite  and 
anti-Wicklifite  parties.  The  defenders  of  the  writings  and  doctrines  of 
Wicklif,  however,  allowed  themselves  the  less  to  be  disturbed  by  the 
condemnation  pronounced  at  this  convocation,  as  they  had  not  in  fact 
acknowledged  all  those  propositions  to  be  propositions  really  laid  down 
by  Wicklif.  By  this  condemnation,  therefore,  nothing  or  what  amounted 
to  nothing  had  been  accomplished  ;  and  the  opponents  of  Wicklif's 
cause  were  obliged  to  look  round  them  and  conjure  up  sharper  measures. 
Already  Bohemian  prelates  themselves  complained  at  the  court  of  Rome, 
that  Wicklif's  heresies  had  spread  even  to  that  spot,2  and  in  the  year 
1405,  Pope  Innocent  VII.  was  moved  thereby  to  putforth  a  bull  addressed 
to  archbishop  Zbynek,  calling  upon  him  to  suppress  and  punish  the  Wick- 
lifite heresies  then  spreading  in  Bohemia.  The  archbishop  complied 
with  this  call,  and  at  a  synod  held  in  Prague,  in  the  year  1406,  published 
an  ordinance,  threatening  ecclesiastical  penalties  against  those  who 
presumed  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif.3  At  the  same  time  he 
enacted,  in  the  same  year,  a  law  for  the  maintenance  of  the  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation,  directing  all  preachers  within  his  diocese  to  teach, 
on  Corpus-Christi  day  and  on  all  other  days,  the  doctrine  that,  after 
the  words  of  consecration,  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  were 
no  longer  present,  but  only  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  The  name  of  Wick- 
lif, however,  was  not  here  mentioned.4  This  of  course  could  not  affect 
Huss,  as  he  had  never  declared  himself  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation.  In  the  next  place,  it  was  brought  about  by  the 
measures  of  the  archbishop  that,  as  the  three  other  nations  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Prague  had  always  pronounced  against  the  opinions  of  Wick- 

'  Huss   says   of  him:    Reminisceretur,  3  Item  anno  1406,  D.  Zbynko  archiepis- 

quomodo  primus  fuit  ad  defendendum,  ne  copus  Prag.  edidit  statutum,  et  eodem  an- 

articuli,  quos  ipse  elicit  erroneos,  damna-  no  in  synodo  puhlice  mandavit,  quod  qui- 

rentur.     Imo  et  arguebat  audacter  in  con-  cunque  praedicaret,  assereretvel  disputaret 

gre^atione  universitatis.     Resp.  ad  scripta  errorres  Wiclef.  in  certas  ibidem  nomina- 

Mag.  Stan,  de  Znoyma.     Hus  opp.  I  pag.  tas  incideret  poenas.    Chron.  univers.  Prag. 

2ss.  Palacky  p.  214. 

-  See  the  words  from  the  Chronicles  of  4  See  the  ordinance  in  a  paper  by  the 

Prague    University,  in   Palacky  III,  1   s.  abbot  Stephen  of  Dola,  in  the  diocese  of 

213:   [nnocentius  papa  VII.  instigavit  et  Olmutz,  composed  in  1408;  Medulla  tri- 

monuit  Zbynkonem  archiepiscopum  Pra-  tici  seu  Anti-Wicklcffus,  published  by  Pez, 

gensem,    ut  sit  diligens  et   sollicitus    ad  Thesaurus  anecdotorum  novissimus  torn 

errorcs   Wiclef  et   haereses  exstirpandas.  IV,  pars  2  pag.  158. 
Hanc  monitiouem  praelati  procuraverunt. 


248  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

lif,  and  therefore  in  all  further  measures  against  them,  the  only  ques- 
tion was  with  regard  to  the  Bohemian  nation,  among  whom  alone  these 
opinions  found  defenders,  the  members  of  this  body  held,  in  the  year 
1408,  a  great  convocation,  in  which  the  condemnation  of  those  forty- 
five  propositions  was  again  proposed.  But  as  the  unconditional  con- 
demnation of  them  could  not,  on  account  of  the  resistance  of  the  party 
of  Huss,be  carried  through,  such  a  qualified  one  was  passed  as  nobody 
could  find  fault  with,  because  it  was  left  open  to  each  to  explain  the 
propositions  in  his  own  sense.  It  was  decreed,  namely,  that  no  one 
should  presume  to  maintain  any  one  of  those  forty-five  propositions,  in 
their  heretical,  erroneous,  or  scandalous  sense.1  Men  were  not  satis- 
fied, therefore,  with  this  measure,  by  which  the  desired  end  could,  in 
no  way,  be  attained.  While  hitherto  every  graduate  had  liberty  to  read 
lectures  at  the  university  of  Prague  on  any  book  of  a  teacher  of  the  uni- 
versities of  Prague,  Paris,  or  Oxford  ;2  and  this  permission  had  given 
occasion  for  the  reading  of  lectures  upon  many  of  Wicklif's  writings  in 
Prague,  and  was  taken  advantage  of  to  spread  more  widely  the  enthu- 
siasm for  him  and  for  his  doctrines  ;  the  liberty  was  now  restricted,  on 
this  particular  side.  An  ordinance  was  passed  that,  for  the  future,  no 
bachelor  should  hold  public  lectures  on  any  one  of  the  three  tracts 
of  Wicklif,  intitled  the  Dialogue,  the  Trialogue,  and  the  De  Eucharis- 
tia  ;  and  no  person  should  make  any  proposition  relating  to  Wicklif  s 
books  and  doctrines,  a  subject  of  public  disputation.3  Neither  does  this 
prohibition,  therefore,  extend  to  all  Wicklif's  writings,  but  only  to  those 
in  which  he  either  had  set  forth  his  doctrine  of  the  holy  supper,  or  the 
whole  of  his  theological  system. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  good  understanding  between  Huss  and  the 
archbishop  had  not  been  disturbed,  in  any  open  manner.  Zbynek 
could  not,  as  yet,  have  withdrawn  from  him  his  confidence ;  he  must 
still  have  highly  appreciated  his  zeal  for  the  reform  of  the  church, 
and  for  the  removal  of  abuses ;  for  he  chose  him,  as  late  as  the 
year  1407,  to  deliver  the  exhortatory  discourse  before  his  clergy  as- 
sembled at  a  synod  of  the  diocese.  We  recognize  in  it  those  princi- 
ples with  regard  to  the  destination  of  the  clergy,  which  Huss  enter- 
tained in  common  with  Matthias  of  Janow  and  Wicklif.  They  were 
the  principles  which,  in  theory  and  practice,  distinguished  the  clergy 
who  were  friendly  to  reform,  and  who  already  bore,  in  Bohemia,  the 
names  clerus  evangelicus  and  pauperes  sacerdotes  Christi.4  He  had 
chosen  for  his  text  the  passage  in  Ephesians  6:  14,  and  employed  these 

1  Quatenus  nemo  queraquam  illorum.  si,  Parisiensi  vel  Oxoniensi  magistro  vel 
articulorura  XLV.  audeat  tenere,  docere  magistris  compilata.  et  dummodo  ista  an- 
vul  defendere  in  sensibus  eoram  haereticis,  tea  fideliter  correxerit,  et  pronuntiatorem 
aut  erroneis,  ant  scandalosis.  Palacky  i.  assumserit  idoneum  et  valentem.  Palackv 
c.  D.  p.  222.  p.  .188. 

2  Quivis  magistrorum  poterit  super  quo-         3  Palaeky  III,  1  p.  222. 

libet  libro  de  facultate  artium  proprie  dicta  4  Paletz  was  disposed  afterwards  to  find 

dare,  perse  vel peralium  idoneum  pronun-  something  arrogant  in  the  claim,  which 

tiando;  poterit  quoque  scripta  alio  rum  et  seemed   to  be   implied  in   these  appella- 

dicta  per  se  aut  per  alium  pronuntiare,  tions,  quod  in  doctrina  et  in  scriptis  se  au- 

dummodo  sint  ab  aliquo  vel  aliquibus  fa-  dent  clerum  evangelicum  nominare.     Hus 

moso  vel  famosis  de  universitate  Pragen-  resp.  ad  scr.  Paletz ;  opera  I,  pag.  260. 


DISCOURSE  OF  HUSS  LEFORE  THE  DIOCESAN  SYNOD.     249 

words  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  clergy  to  a  consciousness  of  their 
vocation,  as  opposed  to  the  then  existing  worldliness  of  the  clergy  in 
Bohemia.  For  the  purpose  of  bringing  clearly  to  view  the  destination 
of  the  clergy,  he  explains  the  grounds  of  the  division  of  Christendom 
into  three  orders,  which  ever  lay  at  bottom  of  his  proposal  for  the  re- 
form of  the  entire  social  state,  viz.  the  clergy,  the  secular  nobility,  who 
should  make  their  power  subservient  to  the  promotion  of  the  law  of  Christ, 
and  the  rest  of  the  people  standing  in  obedience  to  the  two  parts,  as 
their  leaders  in  things  spiritual  and  secular.  The  clergy  ought  to  take 
the  lead  of  all  others  in  following  Christ  under  the  form  of  a  servant,  in 
meekness,  humility,  purity,  and  poverty.  Huss  was  still  entangled  in 
the  distinction  made  between  the  consilia  evangelica  and  the  praecepta, 
above  which  Matthias  of  Janow  had,  as  we  have  earlier  seen,  already  risen 
in  recognizing  the  equal  christian  vocation  of  all  men.  Huss  regarded 
it  as  the  calling  of  the  clergy  to  exhibit  to  all,  even  in  the  observance 
of  the  "  evangelical  counsels,"  a  pattern  of  christian  perfection.  Hence 
he  must  have  held  to  the  necessity  of  celibacy  in  the  clergy.  The  cler- 
gy ought  literally  to  fulfil  the  precepts  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount ; 
therefore  never  to  give  an  oath  ;  their  yea  and  nay  ought  to  be  suffi- 
cient. They  ought  literally  to  realize  what  Christ  had  said  in  the  ser- 
mon on  the  mount,  on  loving  our  enemies,  on  bearing  wrongs.  The 
thriving  of  christian  life  in  all  others,  must  therefore  be  conditioned  on 
the  fact  that  the  clergy  let  their  light  shine  before  others,  in  the  literal 
copying  after  Christ.  It  was  in  the  falling  away  of  the  clergy  from  this, 
their  true  destination,  that  Huss,  as  he  here  declares,  found  the  cause 
of  the  corruptions  in  the  rest  of  Christendom,  the  contemplation  of  which 
filled  his  soul,  more  and  more  every  day,  with  that  heart  sorrow  which 
formed  one  of  the  strong  features  of  his  character.  He  says  in  this  re- 
gard, contemplating  Christians  as  soldiers  of  Christ,  and  the  clergy  as 
those  who  ought  to  take  the  foremost  position  in  the  marshalled  host ; 
it  is  clearly  evident  that  the  clergy  should  lead  the  order  of  battle  in 
the  spiritual  conflict.  But  if  they  are  unfit  for  the  contest,  the  victory 
is  seldom  or  never  won;  since  they,  betaking* themselves  to  flight,  or 
struck  down  and  put  into  confusion,  fill  the  next  ranks  of  the  army  with 
despair  or  irresolution.  Now  if  the  clergy  are  struck  down  or  slain, 
this  will  hinder  the  rest  of  the  army  from  conquering  the  enemy  ;  but 
if  they  treacherously  enter  into  a  league  with  the  enemy,  they  will  pre- 
pare the  way  for  them  to  vanquish,  more  easily  and  treacherously,  the 
army  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  For  this  is  the  reason  why,  in  our  days, 
the  christian  army  is  overcome  by  the  flesh,  the  world,  the  devil,  and 
pagans."  l  As  Huss  considered  it  a  part  of  the  clerical  calling  to  set 
the  example  of  following  Christ,  and  regarded  the  clergy,  as  "  vicars  of 
Christ,"  in  this  sense,  so  when  they  exhibited  the  opposite  of  this  in 
their  lives,  he  stigmatizes  them  as  Antichrist ;  and  accordingly  he  here 
expresses,  before  the  archbishop  and  clerus,  the  view  which,  from  the 
time  of  Militz,  had  been  transmitted  to  all  the  representatives  of  this 
reform  tendency,  and  which  in  the  development  of  the  consequences 
proceeding  therefrom,  would  be  directed  against  the  whole  hierarchical 

1  Hus  opp.  II,  pag.  32. 


250  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

fabric,  that  the  true  Antichrist  was  already  present  in  the  corrupt  clergy, 
whose  life  and  doctrine  stood  in  mutual  contradiction.  lie  also  attacks 
expressly,  in  this  discourse,  the  countenance  given  to  superstition. 
"  Many  —  says  he  —  stand  waiting  for  gifts  by  letters  of  fraternities,1 
by  far-sought  indulgences,  by  fictitious  relics,  by  painted  images  of 
saints.  "2 

Still  the  measures  which  the  archbishop,  by  his  interest  to  support 
the  church  and  by  the  injunction  received  from  Rome,  was  impelled  to 
take  to  prevent  the  spread  of  Wicklifitism,  would  necessarily  bring  about 
by  degrees  a  change  in  the  relations  which  had  subsisted  between  Zby- 
nek  and  Huss.  The  archbishop's  official,  John  of  Kebel,  presided  over 
a  judicial  examination  instituted  against  several  clergymen  accused  of 
Wicklifite  errors  :  Nicholas  of  Welenowitz,  preacher  at  the  church  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  Prague,  Master  Matthias  Pater  of  Knin,  a  certain 
bachelor  Sigmund  of  Jistebnitz,  and  others.  One  of  these,  Nicho- 
las of  Welenowitz,  commonly  called  Abraham,  deserves  special  notice. 
He  is  said  to  have  asserted  that  laymen  as  well  as  priests  might  be  al- 
lowed to  preach  the  gospel.3  This  is  an  important  fact  to  us,  as  an 
indication  of  the  religious  bent  of  spirit  which  had  passed  over  from  Mat- 
thias of  Janow  to  the  party  of  Huss, — the  tendency  which  once  more 
brought  up  to  notice  the  universal  priesthood  of  Christians.  It  is  also 
a  circumstance  marking  the  character  of  these  clergymen,  that  at  his 
trial  he  declined  swearing  except  by  the  living  God,  that  he  would  not 
swear  by  the  crucifix,  the  gospels,  or  the  saints,  because  no  oath  could 
be  taken  on  things  created.  Huss  took  part  with  the  man  in  reference 
to  this  point,  honoring  the  conscientiousness  which  refused  to  transfer 
to  any  created  thing  the  honor  due  to  God  alone.  He  opposed  to  those 
judges  the  authority  of  St.  Chrysostom.4     In  vain  was  the  intercession 

1  Documents  whereby  certain  spiritual  4  We  take  this  from  the  Trial  of  Huss, 
societies  adopted  others  into  the  commu-  in  the  year  1414,  a  document  of  which 
nity  of  their  merits.  Against  abuses  of  much  use  has  been  made  already.  The 
this  sort,  and  the  confidence  placed  in  words  of  Huss  are  :  Istud  dixi  coram  in- 
them,  Matthias  of  Janow  had  often  spoken,  quisitoribus  Magistro  Mauricio  ct  Jaroslao 
Attacking  these  epistolae  fraternitatum  episcopo,  et  coram  vicario  in  spiritualibus, 
was  reckoned  also  among  the  peculiarities  quando  vexabant  sacerdotem  Abraham, 
of  Wicklifitism,  as  we  may  see  from  what  dicentes  coram  me,  quod  noluisset  jurare. 
the  abbot  Stephen  of  Dola  says  about  it  Ad  quem  dixi  coram  ipsis :  Non  vis  tu 
in  the  paper  cited  above.  He  tries  to  de-  jurare?  Qui  respondit :  Juravi  ipsis  per 
fend  them  as  special  testimonies  of  love  deum  vivum,  quod  volo  veritatem  dicere, 
to  persons  who  had  conferred  peculiar  et  ipsi  urgebant  me,  ut  jurarem  supra 
favors:  Si  quas  autem  tradimus  humiliter  evangelium et  imaginem  crucifixi.  Quilms 
et  devote  pro  deo  petentibus  societatis  pe-  ego  Joannes  Hus  dixi,  quod  sanctus  Jo. 
culiaris  in  Christo  literas,  nihil  aliud  agi-  Chrysostomus  nos  vocat  stultos,  qui  ex- 
tur,  ubi  recta  intentio  custoditur,  nisi  ut  petunt  juramentiim  super  creatura,  quasi 
salvia  communibus  ecclesiae  praecibus,  ali-  majus  sit  jurare  per  creaturam,  quam  per 
quid  specialis  beneficii  specialibus  bene-  deum.  Et  statim  vicarius  in  spiritualibus 
factoribiis  faciamus  pro  talibus  in  vita  et  nomine  Bibel  dixit  furiose  :  Ha  Magister, 
in  morte  pariter.     L.  c.  pag.  240.  vos  venistis  nuc  ad  audiendum,  et  non  ar 

2  Multi  enim  stant  quaerentes  munera  guendum.  Cui  dixi :  Ecce  vos  istum  sa- 
por fraternitatum  literas,  per  exquisitas  cerdotem  condemnare,  dicentes  eum  tenere 
indulgentias,  per  fictas  reliquias  et  per  errorem  Waldensium,  et  ipse  juravit  vobis 
imagines  eoloratas.    Fag.  36.  per  deum,  estne  hoc  justum  ?    Etaliamul- 

3  From  the  Acts  of  the  Consistory  of  ta  loquebar  iis.  See  Stud.  u.  Krit.  1.  c 
Prague,  of  the  year  1408,  cited  by  Falacky  page  139  and  140. 

III.  1  p.  223,  Note  287. 


zbynek's  measukes  against  wicklifitism.  251 

of  Huss.  He  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  after  some  days  released, 
but  banished  from  the  diocese.  Huss,  in  a  letter,  vehemently  reproached 
the  archbishop  on  account  of  this  proceeding.  "  What  is  this !  that  men 
stained  with  innocent  blood,  men  guilty  of  every  crime,  shall  be  found 
walking  abroad  almost  with  impunity  ;  while  humble  priests,  who  spend 
all  their  efforts  to  destroy  sin,  who  fulfil  their  duties  under  your  church 
guidance,  in  a  good  temper,  never  follow  avarice,  but  give  them- 
selves for  nothing  to  God's  service  and  the  proclamation  of  his  word,  are 
cast  into  dungeons  as  heretics,  and  must  suffer  banishment  for  preach- 
ing the  gospel  ?  "  1  Here,  for  the  first  time,  the  thing  came  out  openly 
which  we  have  said  was  inevitable,  that  although  the  archbishop,  at  the 
beginning,  countenanced  the  reform  tendency  in  Huss,  yet  the  opposite 
character  of  their  principles  and  of  their  tempers,  must  lead  to  a  rupture 
between  them  as  soon  as  the  activity  of  Huss  as  a  reformer  passed  be- 
yond a  certain  limit.  And  when  the  first  impulse  had  been  given,  he 
could  not  fail  to  be  carried  still  farther,  by  the  movements  in  this  pe- 
riod of  a  great  crisis  of  the  church.  A  document  which  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  extreme  excitement  between  the  Wicklifite  party  in  Bohe- 
mia and  the  representatives  of  the  old  hierarchical  system  in  its  whole 
extent,  is  a  work  composed  in  these  times,  about  the  year  1408,  by  the 
abbot  of  the  convent  of  Dola,  in  the  diocese  of  Olmutz  ;  the  object  of 
which  was  to  guard  against  and  to  refute  the  Wicklifite  heresies.  Dola 
was  a  man  by  no  means  disposed  to  defend  the  abuses  of  simony  and  the 
bad  conduct  of  the  clergy  and  monks.  He  complains  of  it  as  a  grievance, 
that  important  men  in  Bohemia,  a  country  hitherto  exempt  from  all  here- 
sies, had  contributed  to  bring  their  nation  into  bad  repute  with  foreigners, 
particularly  with  the  Germans  ;  that  they  openly  and  secretly  dissemi- 
nated the  Wicklifite  doctrines  ;2  that  the  writings  of  Wicklif  were  scat- 
tered over  the  whole  world.3  He  describes  the  party  as  one  that  boasted 
of  having  first  made  familiar  the  understanding  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
taken  pains  to  have  the  gospel  preached  everywhere.  He  quotes  from 
their  own  lips  the  words  :  "  We  preach  ;  we  proclaim  the  word  of  God  ; 
we  guide  the  people.-*  He  gives  us  to  understand  that  they  attacked 
all  others  as  ignorant  men  (no  doubt  in  reference  to  their  knowledge  of 
the  Scripture)  ;  that  they  were  opponents  of  the  monks,  of  the  conven- 
tual clergy  ;  as  the  latter,  in  fact,  were  the  most  decidedly  opposed  to 
the  more  liberal  christian  tendency.5  Already,  too,  he  found  it  neces- 
sary to  defend  the  doctrine  of  indulgences  against  the  objections  of  this 
party.6  The  author  of  this  work  attacks  no  individual  name  ;  he  does 
not  even  mention  that  of  Huss,  whom  he  undoubtedly  had  in  his  eye 

1  Qualitcr  hoc  est,  quod  incestuosi  et  2  Stephanus  Dolanus  Antiwikleffus,  by 

varie  criminosi  absque  rigo  correctionis  —  Pez,  thesaur.  torn.  IV  pars  2  pag.  184. 

incedunt  libere,  sacerdotes  autem  humiles,  3  Quae  in  orbe  terrarum  bine  inde  dis- 

spinas  peccati  evellentes,  officium  Vestri  curruut  scripta  per  chartulas.     Ibid,  pag 

implentes  regiminis  ex  bono  affectu,  non  213. 

sequentes  avaritiam,  sed  gratis  pro  deo  se  4  Ibid.  pag.  209. 

offerentes    ad    evangelisationis    laborem,  6  Non  suraus,  inquiunt,  sicut  eaeteri  ho- 

tamquam  hacretici  manicipantur  carceri-  minum,  idiotac  et  claustrales.     Ibid, 

bus,  et  exiliurn   propter  evangelisationem  6  Ibid.  pag.  214. 
ipsius  evangelii  patiuntur?  caet.    Palack 
III.  1  p.  223,  Note  288. 


252  HISTORY    OP    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

in  speaking  of  "  men  who  seemed  to  be  of  some  consequence."  i  But  at 
this  time  the  Wicklifites,  so  called,  would  be  treated  with  more  forbear- 
ance, a?  the  opposition  within  the  Bohemian  party  itself,  at  the  univer- 
sity of  Prague,  had  not  as  yet  broken  out  ;  and  the  abbot  himself  had, 
eirlier,  stood  on  friendly  terms  with  Huss,  and  describes  him  as  a  man 
formerly  inclined  to  support  the  church,  and  likeminded  with  himself.2 

But  although  such  excitement  existed  between  the  two  parties,  yet 
archbishop  Zbynek  thought  that  enough  had  been  done  on  his  part  for 
the  suppression  of  the  Wicklifite  heresy.  He  may  not  have  been,  him- 
self, so  very  zealous  in  this  matter.  He  had  his  reasons  for  exercising 
forbearance  towards  the  party  of  Huss,  which  had  important  adherents 
in  all  ranks  of  society.  Violent  steps  might,  in  the  present  times  of  fer- 
mentation, lead  to  fearful  commotions  ;  and  King  Wenceslaus  had  not, 
since  the  accession  of  Pope  Boniface  IX.,  stood  on  the  best  terms  with 
the  Roman  court,  as  the  latter  had  failed  to  afford  him  the  desired  as- 
sistance in  his  struggle  with  Rupert  for  the  imperial  dignity.  His 
openly  avowed  breach  with  the  court  of  Rome,  would  be  favorable  to 
the  reform  party  in  Bohemia ;  and  archbishop  Zbynek  could  not  reckon 
on  the  king's  support  in  carrying  out  his  measures  against  Wicklifitism. 
As  it  might  be  very  prejudicial  to  the  king's  interests  in  relation  to 
German  affairs,  that  suspicions  should  be  raised  against  the  Bohemians 
by  the  spread  of  reports  importing  that  they  were  inclined  to  the  Wick- 
lifite heresy,  he  was  the  more  urgent  with  the  archbishop  to  set  on  foot 
an  investigation  which  should  vindicate  the  good  character  of  the  Bohe- 
mians. In  July  of  the  year  1408,  Zbynek  declared,  at  a  diocesan  synod 
held  at  Prague,  that  it  had  been  found,  after  investigation,  that  no  Wick- 
lifite heresy  existed  at  present  in  Bohemia.3  At  the  same  time,  however, 
he  ordered  that  the  writings  of  Wicklif  should  be  delivered  up, —  an 
order  which  ended  in  mere  words,  the  bishop  not  having  the  power, 
and  perhaps  at  that  time  not  even  a  serious  intention,  of  actually  car- 
rying out  so  radical  a  measure. 

Up  to  this  time,  the  Bohemians  at  the  university  of  Prague  were  still 
united  together,  by  a  common  national  interest,  against  the  predomi- 
nance of  the  Germans.  The  party  favorable  to  reform  would  be  the 
most  desirous  to  overthrow  this  preponderance,  the  Germans  being,  on 
account  of  their  philosophical  and  theological  opinions,  the  fiercest  oppo- 

1  Qui  videntur  esse  aliquid.  himself  as  an  old  friend  of  Huss ;  which 

2  Tu  vero  homo  olim  unanimis,  qui  si-  confusion  was  already  noticed  by  the  Bene- 
mul  mecum  dulces  capiebas  cibos,  magni-  dictine  Pez,  the  editor  of  the  writings  of 
ficasti  super  me  supplantationem,  in  his  this  abbot. 

Arttihussus,  Pez  thes.  torn.  IV  pars.  2,pag.  3  See  what  Palacky  (III,  1  p.  224),  re- 

380.   Cochlajus  cites  this  passage  and  much  marks,  on  the  authority  of  certain  MS. 

other  matter,  from  this  book  in  his  work  records,  and  the  words  of  the  Jurist,  Mas- 

Historiae  Hussitarum  lib.  I.  pag.39;  but  he  ter  Jensenitz,  in  his  Repetitio  pro  defen- 

names  the  author  Stephen  Paletz.    Doubt-  sione  causae  Joann.  Hus :   Cum  in  regno 

less  he  was  led  to  confound  him  with  Ste-  Boemiae  nullus  fidei  erroneus  vel  haereti- 

phen  Paletz,  on  account  of  his  having  the  cus  hujusque  sit  compertus  vel  convictus, 

same   christian   name,   Stephen,   and  be-  prout  pronunciatio  principum  et  baronum 

cause  the  abbot  in  the  place  cited,  where  inter  dominum  Sbynconem  piae  memoriae 

Cochlseus   instead   of   simul  reads    semel,  archiepiscopum  olim  Pragensem  et  partem 

which  would  give  a  totally  different  sense  adversam  approbat.  Hus  opp.  I  fol.  832, 2. 
at  variance  with  the  context,  speaks  of 


MORE   MODERATE   PROCEEDINGS    OF    ZBTNBK.  253 

nents  of  the  new  theological  tendency ;  and  by  their  cooperation,  as 
had  been  shown  at  the  convocation  assembled  to  condemn  the  forty-five 
articles  of  Wicklif,  all  measures  directed  against  this  tendency  might 
easily  be  carried  through.  Combined,  in  the  case  of  Huss  and  Jerome, 
with  the  religious  interest,  was  that  of  patriotism  ;  and  on  this  side 
they  might  count  on  receiving  the  support  of  many  who  did  not  agree 
with  them  in  religious  and  doctrinal  matters.  Huss,  the  confessor  of 
queen  Sophia,  could  for  this  reason  exercise  a  greater  influence  at 
court.  His  friend  Jerome  moved  in  the  most  respectable  circles.  They 
were  supported,  in  this  cause,  by  the  most  influential  of  the  nobility. 
Add  to  this  that  King  Wenceslaus  had  a  strong  political  motive,  con- 
nected with  his  politico-ecclesiastical  plans,  for  favoring  the  Bohemian 
more  than  the  German  party  in  the  university.  Meantime  took  place 
the  renunciation  of  both  the  rival  popes,  by  the  great  majority  of  the 
cardinals,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  council  of  Pisa.  The  king,  who 
had  been  urged  by  France,  and  had  separated  from  Gregory  XII,  was 
disposed  to  embrace  the  cause  of  the  council.  In  this  view,  he  might 
expect  more  support  from  the  party  in  favor  of  reform,  than  from  the 
Germans  who  were  devoted  to  the  cause  of  papal  despotism.  Thus  he 
was  induced  to  put  forth  an  edict,  whereby  a  change  was  made  in  the 
relation  of  votes  at  the  university  of  Prague,  three  being  given  to  the 
Bohemians,  while  only  one  was  allowed  to  the  foreigners.  Teachers  and 
students  of  the  German  nation  carried  into  effect,  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, a  resolution  which  they  had  bound  themselves,  under  the  most 
sacred  oaths,  to  execute  in  case  the  king  would  give  no  heed  to  their 
remonstrances,  and  forsook  Prague  in  vast  numbers.  The  number  who 
left,  it  seems,  cannot  be  exactly  estimated.  They  who  reckon  highest, 
estimate  it  at  44,000  ;  the  lowest  estimate  is  5,0*00j  Only  2,000  stu- 
dents are  said  to  have  been  left  in  Prague. 

This  was  an  event  which,  in  its  consecuiences,  had  the  most  impor- 
tant influence  on  the  development  of  the  contest,  which  is  now  the 
subject  of  our  contemplation.  The  Bohemian  party  at  the  university 
had  now  gained  decidedly  the  ascendency,  as  was  soon  made  evident 
by  the  choice  of  Huss  as  rector  of  the  university.  But  it  turned  out 
here  as  it  usually  does  in  political,  ecclesiastical,  and  religious  affairs, 
with  combinations  formed  of  conflicting  elements,  and  held  together 
only  by  the  bond  of  a  common  opposition.  The  national  interest  had 
thus  far  brought  into  union  with  Huss  a  set  of  men,  who  were  unlike 
him  in  spirit  and  temper,  and  were  only  not  conscious  as  yet  of  the 
opposition  really  existing  between  them.  A  crisis  must  now  arrive, 
which  would  operate  to  separate  those  who  valued  the  interests  of 
Christianity  and  reform  above  all  things  else,  from  those  who  were  not 
disposed  in  any  case  to  renounce  the  dominant  church  tendency.  The 
decisive  events  which  transpired  in  this  stormy  period  must  soon  bring 
about  the  dissolution  of  such  a  union,  which  was  no  longer  held  to- 

'  See  the  dissertation  of  J.  Th.  Held  :     Pelzel  on  the  history  of  the  Emperor  Wen 
"  Illustratio  reram  anno  1409  in  universi-     ceslaus,  and  Palacky,  1.  c 
tate  Pragena  gestarum,"  and  the  essays  of 

VOL.  V.  22 


254  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

gether  by  the  interest  of  a  common  opposition ;   and   men  who  had 
fought  side  by  side  must  be  led  to  fight  against  each  other.     Men  who 
had  been  friends  must  become  the  most  violent  enemies.     Amongst 
those  who  left  the  university  were  to  be  found  eminent  scholars  who 
obtained  important  situations  abroad.     This  emigration  was  the  occa- 
sion of  the  founding  of  the  new  university  at  Leipsic.     And  the  most 
injurious  reports  were  now  circulated  abroad  respecting  the  heresies 
of  the  party  of  Huss.     All  who  were  determined  to  maintain  the  old 
church  system,  not  merely  the  friends  of  the  papal  absolutism  of  the 
middle  age,  but  also  those  disposed  to  favor  reform,  the  adherents  of 
the  Parisian    theology,  believed   they  saw   a   dangerous   revolution, 
threatening  the  overthrow  of  all  ecclesiastical  order,  breaking  forth 
from  Bohemia,  and  were  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  every  effort 
should  be  made  to  avert  this  danger.     The  city  of  Prague  suffered  a 
great  loss  by  this  emigration.    Even  commerce  felt  the  blow ;  as  many 
merchants  had  sent  their  sons  to  Prague  with  a  view  to  push  their 
business  in  that  city,  and  these  young  men  had  in  part  got  themselves 
matriculated  in  order  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the  university.     An 
odious  light  was  cast  upon  Jerome  and  Huss  as  the  authors  of  the 
mischief;   and  this  was  marked  as  one  of  the  ruinous  effects  of  reli- 
gious schism.     Jerome  of  Prague  must  therefore  defend  himself  and 
his  friend  against  the  charges  brought  against  them  on  this  side  also, 
at  the  council  of  Constance  ;   and  he  sets  forth  the  motives  of  patriot- 
ism, which  had  induced  them  to  obtain  this  decree  from  King  Wen- 
ceslaus.     After  having  given  an  account  of  the  ascendency  which  the 
Germans  had  gained  ever  after  the  foundation  of  the  University  of 
Prague,  he  said,  that  when  he  and  Huss  and  other  nobles,  in  Bohe- 
mia, perceived  that  the  whole  effect  of  all  this  would  be  to  exterminate 
the  Bohemian  language,  they  had  gone  to  the  king ;  and  he  had  per- 
suaded his  friend  Huss,  in  his  Bohemian  sermons,  to  make  the  people 
take  notice  that  they  ought  no  longer  to  tolerate  such  a  thing,  nor 
suffer  themselves  to  be  so  treated  by  the  Germans ;  and  so,  with  the 
help  of  the  Bohemian  nobility  and  others  of  their  countrymen,  they  had 
finally  carried  the  thing  through. i     In  like  manner  Huss  was  accused, 
as  we  find  it  laid  to  his  charge  in  his  last  trial  in  Prague,  in  the  year 
1414,  of  having  driven  the  German  students  from   the   university. 
But  he  replied  ;   the  German  students  were  driven  away  by  nobody. 
Their  own  oath  alone  drove  them  away ;  they  pledged  themselves  on 
penalty  of  excommunication  for  perjury,  the  forfeiture  of  their  honor, 
and  a  pecuniary  mulct  of  60  groats,  that  not  one  of  them  would  re- 
main at  the  university,  if  they  did  not  have  the  right  of  three  votes. 
According  to  the  law  of  God,  and  by  natural  right,  the  Bohemians 
ought  to  have  the  first  claim  to  offices  within  the  Bohemian  realm ; 

1  Ipse  vero  Hieronymus  videns  hoc,  una  Bohemicalem,  quod  talia   amplius    susti- 

cum  Mag.  Joann.  Hus  iverunt  ad  regem  nere  non  deberent,  quod  ita  tractarentur 

Bohemiae,  concludentes,  quod  talia  essent  per  Teutonicos.     Jerome,  in  his  last  hear- 

res  mali  exempli  et  tenderent  in  destruc-  ing  at  Constance.     See  V.  d.  Hardt,  acta 

tionem  linguae  Bohemicalis      Et  persua-  concilii    Constantiensis   torn.  IV,  pars  2, 

sit  Mag.  Joann.  Hus,  quod  in  sermonibus  pag.  758. 
Bohemicalibus  deberet  inducere  populum 


DEPARTURE  OF  THE  GERMANS  FROM  PRAGUE.        255 

just  as  the  French  have  in  France,  and  the  Germans  in  their  coun- 
tries. Of  what  sort  of  use  would  it  be  for  a  Bohemian  parish  priest 
or  bishop  to  settle  down  in  Germany,  if  he  were  not  familiar  with  the 
German  tongue,  and  therefore  had  about  the  same  power  over  his 
flock  as  a  dumb  dog  which  could  not  bark  ?  "  The  same  power  would 
a  German  have  among  us  Bohemians.  Knowing,  therefore,  that  this 
is  contrary  to  the  law  of  God  and'  natural  right,  I  say  that  it  is  not 
allowable."  1 

Meantime,  King  Wenceslaus,  who  had  never  been  a  friend  of  the 
hierarchy,  became  daily  more  involved  in  controversy  with  the  arch- 
bishop and  the  clergy.  The  influence  of  this  was,  that  he  promoted 
thereby,  without  intending  it,  the  movements  of  reform,  besides  contri- 
buting on  the  one  hand  to  strengthen  the  party  of  Huss,  and,  on  the 
other,  to  draw  upon  him  still  more  numerous  and  more  dangerous 
enemies.  The  archbishop  and  clergy  would  not  abandon  Pope  Gre- 
gory XII,  whose  obedience  the  king  had  renounced,  nor  recognize  the 
general  council  assembled  at  Pisa,  whose  cause  Wenceslaus  sought  to 
promote.  The  king  was  for  carrying  out  his  will  in  his  own  states. 
He  met  with  fierce  resistance  from  the  clergy ;  many  refused  to  conti- 
nue divine  worship.  Violent  attacks  were  made  on  the  archbishop 
and  the  clergy  by  the  king  and  his  favorites,  who,  partly  as  the  king's 
instruments,  partly  from  private  grudges,  eagerly  sought  to  humble 
the  prelates.  Many  betook  themselves  to  flight ;  their  goods  were 
confiscated.  The  king,  too,  was  probably  inclined  to  indulge  in  acts 
of  arbitrary  self-will.  Huss  now  considered  it  to  be  his  duty  to  de- 
clare himself  in  favor  of  the  cause  of  the  council  in  his  sermons,  and 
to  promote  it  in  every  way,  as  there  was  far  more  reason  to  expect 
something  might  be  done  for  the  reform  of  the  church  by  the  council 
than  by  either  of  the  popes.  By  so  doing  he  would  gain  the  favor  of 
the  king,  but  so  much  the  more  draw  upon  himself  the  enmity  of  the 
archbishop  and  the  clergy  ;  and  this  was  attended  with  important 
consequences  on  the  later  events.  Huss  himself  points  to  this  in  his 
letter  hereafter  to  be  noticed  to  the  college  of  Cardinals  in  Rome,  as 
the  -prime  cause  of  the  violent  rupture  between  him  and  the  arch- 
bishop. He  says,  the  grievous  oppressions  which  he  was  compelled  to 
bear,  originated  in  the  fact,  that  at  the  time  of  the  renunciation  of 
Pope  Gregory  XII,  he  had  strongly  recommended  and  constantly 
preached  to  all  the  nobles,  princes,  and  lords,  to  the  clergy  and  the 
people,  the  duty  of  taking  part  with  the  general  council  for  restoring 
unity  to  the  church.  Hence  the  archbishop  Zbynek  had  forbidden  to  all 
masters  of  the  university  who  sided  with  the  college  of  cardinals,  and 
particularly  to  himself,  by  a  public  notice  posted  on  the  churches,  the 
exercise  of  all  priestly  functions  within  his  dioceso.2  In  like  manner 
Huss  expressed  himself,  on  this  subject,  at  the  council  of  Constance. 
He  was  accused,  namely,  of  having  sowed  discord  and  schism  be- 
tween the  spiritual  and  secular  powers  ;  hence  had  arisen  the  perse- 

1  Depos.  test,  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit.  a.  a.        *  Hus  opp.  I  fol.  93. 
O.  p.  131. 


256  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY    AXD    DOCTRINE. 

cution  of  the  bishop  and  the  clergy,  and  the  plundering  of  their  goods. 
To  this  Huss  replied :  Nothing  of  the  kind  had  happened  through  any 
fault  of  his.  The  schism  between  church  and  state  had  fallen  out  ear- 
lier, and  it  had  arisen  in  this  way:  King  Wenceslaus  had  been  induced 
to  abandon  Pope  Gregory  XII,  who  favored  Duke  Rupert  of  Bavaria 
in  the  competition  for  the  imperial  dignity,  and  to  apply  to  the  college 
of  cardinals,  which  held  out  to  him  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  vote  of  the 
pope  then  to  be  elected.  Now  as  archbishop  Zbynek  and  the  clergy 
opposed  the  king  in  this  step,  and  many  suspended  divine  worship  and 
left  Prague,  and  in  fact  were  followed  by  the  archbishop  himself,  the 
king  had  easily  granted  that  the  goods  of  those  who  had  fled  to  avoid 
being  compelled  to  side  with  the  king,  should  be  taken  from  them.1 
By  these  commotions  Huss  was  led,  in  setting  forth  the  necessity  of  a 
reformation  of  the  church  to  his  numerous  hearers  in  Bethlehem  chapel, 
to  portray  the  corruption  of  the  clergy,  in  all  its  parts,  in  dark  colors 
indeed,  but  certainly  not  exceeding  the  truth.  For  this  he  had  often 
been  reproached,  both  at  that  time  and  more  recently.  While  the  clergy 
heard  him  with  pleasur-e  when  he  fearlessly  attacked  the  reigning  vices 
among  other  classes  of  men,  they  could  no  longer  tolerate  him  when  he 
attacked  their  own.  They  laid  a  complaint  against  him  before  the  king  ; 
but  the  king,  who  was  not  displeased  with  what  he  had  done,  replied  to 
them :  When  Huss  preached  sharp  discourses  against  the  princes  and 
lords,  they  had  complacently  looked  on  ;  now  their  turn  had  come, 
and  they  must  make  the  best  of  it.  Upon  this  was  founded  the  charge 
that  Huss  had  stirred  up  the  laity  to  rebellion  against  the  clergy.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  trial  at  Prague,  in  the  year  1414,  he  was  forced  to  de- 
fend himself  against  this  charge  ;  and  he  said  :  "  I  hope  that,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  I  have  never  preached  in  an  unbecoming  manner. 
Against  the  vices  of  the  clergy  I  have  undoubtedly  preached  ;  and  I 
hope  that  I  shall  preach  against  them  before  the  council  (of  Constance)  ; 
not  in  any  extravagant  and  irregular  way,  nor  so  as  to  show  any  dispo- 
sition to  injure  their  good  name,  but  so  as  to  restore  their  good  name, 
and  to  give  them  occasion  for  correcting  their  faults.  For  he  who  seeks 
to  remove  the  vices  in  his  neighbors,  from  good  motives,  seeks  most  ef- 
fectually to  restore  their  good  name.  0,  how  much  would  it  conduce 
to  the  good  name  of  every  one,  if,  whenever  he  heard  his  vices  rebuked 
in  a  sermon,  he  would  renounce  them,  and  afterwards,  by  a  good  life, 
secure  to  himself  the  praise  of  God  and  all  holy  men."  When  he  was 
accused  of  drawing  away,  by  his  sermons,  the  laity  of  other  churches 
from  their  parish  priests  and  leading  them  to  disobey  those  priests,  he 
replied,  that  he  had  never,  in  any  way,  enticed  subjects  from  a  holy 
obedience  to  their  superiors,  but  from  unlawful  obedience ;  he  had 
taught  that  they  should  not  follow  those  set  over  them  and  parish  priests 
m  doing  that  which  is  wrong.2  It  was  cast  as  a  special  reproach  upon 
Huss,  as  it  had  already  been  before  upon  Matthias  of  Janow,3  that  he 
openly  attacked,  before  the  people,  in  che  Bohemian  tongue,  the  vices 

1  See  Hardt  torn.  IV,  pars  2,  pag.  311  et        2  See  Stud.  u.  Crit.  a.  a.  O.  p.  143. 
312.  3  See  above  p.  174. 


HUSS  IN  CONTENTION  WITH  THE  CLERGY.         257 

of  the  clergy.  In  reference  to  this,  Cardinal  d'Ailly  afterwards  said  to 
him,  at  the  council  of  Constance,  "  Certainly  thou  hast  not  observed  a 
just  moderation  in  thy  sermons  and  writings.  Oughtest  thou  not  to 
have  adapted  thy  sermons  to  the  particular  needs  of  thy  hearers  ?  For 
what  was  the  necessity  or  advantage  of  preaching  before  the  people 
against  cardinals,  when  no  cardinal  was  present  ?  Such  things  -should 
rather  be  said  in  their  presence,  than  to  their  injury  before  the  laity." 
To  this  Huss  replied  :  "  Priests  and  other  learned  men  were  present 
to  hear  my  sermons,1  and  what  I  said  was  on  their  account,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  warning  them."2  Huss,  at  some  later  period,  composed  a 
tract,  in  vindication  of  himself  against  the  charge  of  having  done  wrong 
in  openly  attacking  the  vices  of  the  clergy  in  his  sermons,  and  pointed 
out  the  reasons  which  had  led  him  to  do  so.  He  states,  in  particular, 
the  following  good  ends,  which  such  discourses  might  subserve  :  first, 
it  might  be  of  advantage  to  the  clergy  themselves,  that  they  should  be 
made  ashamed  of  their  faults  and  led  to  repentance  ;  secondly,  that  the 
worth  of  good  clergymen  would  shine  brighter  by  the  contrast.  Thirdly, 
that  good  clergymen  would,  by  comparison  with  the  bad,  gain  so  much 
the  more  the  love  of  the  people,  and  bad  ones  fall  so  much  the  more 
into  contempt.  Fourthly,  that  the  good  clergy  and  laity  thus  learned 
to  avoid  the  bad,  as  mangy  sheep  and  wolves.  And  he  applies  here  the 
words  of  Christ  on  the  final  separation  (Matt.  13:  41),  which,  after 
the  manner  of  Matthias  of  Janow,3  he  understands  as  referring  to  her- 
alds or  preachers,  designated  as  Christ's  angels,  sent  forth  in  the  last 
times  for  the  purpose  of  separating  the  good  from  the  bad.  Fifthly, 
that  the  simple  laity  might  not  imitate  those  wolves  in  their  life  and 
conduct.  Sixthly,  that  the  sinful  laity  might  be  stripped  of  every  ex- 
cuse ;  since  it  was  their  wont  to  say,  The  priests  preach  against  our 
unchastity  and  other  vices,  and  say  nothing  of  their  own  unchastity 
and  their  own  vices.  Either  this  is  no  sin,  or  they  are  for  monopolizing 
it  to  themselves.  And  since  it  was  their  wont  to  say,  The  priests  be- 
hold the  mote  in  our  eyes",  but  not  the  beam  in  their  own  ;  let  them 
first  cast  out  the  beam  in  their  own  eyes,  and  then  tell  us  that  we 
should  cast  out  the  mote  from  ours  ;  and  since,  again,  it  was  their  wont 
to  say,  Why  dost  thou  reprove  me  ? — the  priests  do  the  same  ;  why 
clost  thou  not  reprove  them  ?  Is  it  perchance  no  sin  in  their  case  ? 
Next,  because  if  the  prelate  be  a  bad  man,  perhaps  an  Antichrist,  and 
if,  perhaps  on  account  of  his  wickedness,  the  people  will  not  obey  him 
even  in  what  is  right;  the  preacher  is  bound  to  call  upon  them  to  act 
according  to  the  example  of  Christ ;  to  follow  the  precepts  which  such 
lay  down,  but  not  imitate  their  actions  (Matt.  23:  2,  3  and  1  Pet.  2: 
18).  Finally,  because  the  students,  when  they  listen  with  the  people 
to  sermons  attacking  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  seek  to  avoid  such,  and  to 
prepare  themselves,  in  a  better  way,  for  their  future  calling  ;  or  if  they 

1  What  Huss  here  says  is  confirmed  by  *  Quia  sermon ihus  meis  sacerdotes  et 

the  words  of  the  abbot  of  Dola  in  his  Dia-  alii  docti  viri  interfuerunt,  illorum  causa 

logucs  volatilis  adv.  Hussum  :    Auditorum  haec   a   me  dicta  sunt,  ut  sibi    caverent. 

multorum  millium  diversi  status  et  gene-  See  Hardt  torn.  IV,  pars  2,  pag.  317. 

ris  supputatio.    Pez  thesaur.  torn.  IV,  pars  3  See  above,  p.  1"5. 
2,  pag.  462. 

22* 


258  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

are  conscious  of  being  guilty  of  still  greater  sins,  which  would  be  incom- 
patible with  their  undertaking  so  sacred  a  vocation,  they  are  moved  to 
forsake  them  betimes.1  In  a  later  performance,  Huss  appeals  to  the 
maxim  that  sin  can  at  most  hurt  a  good  man  only  when  it  is  not  knoAvn 
to  be  sin  ;  when  exposed,  it  is  rendered  harmless.2  Another  contempo- 
rary, the  Bohemian  theologian  Andrew  of  Broda,  says,  to  be  sure,  in  a 
writing  addressed  to  Huss,  that  he  was  not  persecuted  expressly  be- 
cause he  attacked  the  vices  of  the  clergy  ;  for  the  same  thing  had  been 
done  already,  before  him,  by  John  Militz,  Conrad  of  Waldhausen,  and 
John  Stekna.3  But  it  is  evident,  from  our  preceding  narrative,  that  the 
two  first-named  individuals  did  actually  draw  down  upon  themselves 
persecution  by  their  castigatory  sermons  against  the  clergy.  It  may 
be  gathered  from  the  words  of  Matthias  of  Janow,  cited  on  a  former  page, 
how  certainly  such  castigatory  preachers  exposed  themselves  to  perse- 
cutions and  to  defamation  as  heretics  ;  and  it  lay  in  the  very  nature 
of  the  case  that,  as  the  excited  feelings  between  the  two  parties,  that 
of  the  dominant  clergy  and  of  the  friends  of  reform,  increased  in  in- 
tensity, so  the  persecutions  against  the  castigatory  preachers  would  in- 
crease in  violence.  Now  as  it  concerns  Huss,  his  connection  with 
Wicklifitism,  and  the  complication  of  his  cause  with  many  other  mat- 
ters which  we  have  pointed  out,  contributed  no  doubt  to  aggravate  his 
case.  And  as  he  cultivated  the  growth  of  that  which  had  been  sown 
by  his  predecessors,  so  he  was  under  the  necessity  also  of  reaping,  in 
the  bad  as  well  as  the  good  sense,  what  they  had  but  sown. 

The  clergy  of  Prague,  who  had  already,  near  the  end  of  the  year 
1408,  entered  a  complaint  against  Huss  before  the  archbishop,  re- 
newed their  complaint  in  still  stronger  terms  during  the  year  in  which, 
for  the  reasons  already  mentioned,  the  breach  grew  more  violent.  The 
charges  which  they  brought  against  Huss  were  as  follows  :  that  he  stir- 
red up  the  people  against  the  clergy,  the  Bohemians  against  the  Ger- 
mans ;  preached  disrespect  to  the  church  and  disregard  to  her  power 
of  punishing  ;  styled  Rome  the  seat  of  Antichrist,  and  declared  every 
clergyman  who  demanded  a  fee  for  distributing  the  sacrament  a  here- 
tic ;  "that  he  openly  praised  Wicklif,  and  had  expressed  the  wish  that 
his  soul  might  finally  arrive  where  Wicklif's  soul  was.*  In  reference 
to  the  charge  relating  to  his  opinion  of  Wicklif,  Huss  in  his  trial  at 
Prague,  in  the  year  1414,  remarked  :  "  I  say,  and  have  said,  that 
Wicklif  was,  as  I  hope,  a  good  Christian  ;  and  I  hope  he  is  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  ;  and  so  too  have  I  expressed  myself  in  my  sermons. 

1  See  the  tract  De  arguendo  clero  pro  3  Andrew  of  Broda,  in  his  Responsio  to 
concione.     Hus  opp.  I,  fol.  150,  2  sq.  the  epistola,  qua  a  Joann.  Hus  tentatus 

2  Nulla  autem  res  sic  exterminat  bonum,  fuerat,  ut  vel  in  partem  ejus  transiret,  vel 
quemadmodum  simulatum  bonum.  Nam  saltern  non  obsisteret :  Nam  et  ab  antiquis 
manifestum  malum  tamquam  malum  fa-  temporibus  Milicius,  Conradus,  Sczekna 
gitur  et  cavetur.  Malum  autem  sub  spe-  ct  alii  quam  plurimi  contra  clericos  prae- 
cie  boni  celatum,  dum  non  cognoscitur,  dicaverunt.  See  Cochlaeus,  hist.  Huss. 
nee  cavetur,  sed  etiam  quasi  benum  susci-  lib.  I,  pag.  42. 

pitur  et  non  conjunctum  est  bono,  id  est         4  Palacky  III,  1,  p.  246. 
Christo,  ideo  exterminat  bonum  Respon- 
sio ad  scriptum  octo  doctorum,  Opp.  I,  fol. 
305,  2. 


HUSS  IN  CONTENTION  WITH  THE  CLERGY.         259 

Hence  I  hope  also  to-day,  though  I  never  affirmed  it  as  a  fact,  that  Wicklif 
belonged  to  the  number  of  the  saved  ;  because  I  do  not  choose  to  condemn 
any  man, respecting  whornlhave  no  testimony  of  Scripture  and  no  revela- 
tion, no  spiritual  knowledge,  that  he  belongs  to  the  number  of  the  repro 
bate  ;  for  our  Saviour  says,  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged."1 

On  the  presentation  of  these  complaints,  archbishop  Zbynek  charged 
his  inquisitor,  Master  Mauritius  of  Prague,  to  inquire  into  them,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  examine  by  virtue  of  what  authority  it  was  that  ser- 
mons and  divine  worship  were  held  in  Bethlehem  chapel.  We  perceive 
here,  already,  a  wish  in  the  archbishop  to  find  some  reason  for  putting 
a  stop  to  those  labors  of  Huss  in  Bethlehem  chapel  which  exerted  so 
great  an  influence  on  the  people.  It  is  much  to  be  questioned  whether 
Huss,  under  the  existing  circumstances,  when  the  bonds  of  the  diocese 
were  relaxed  by  discordant  opinions  respecting  the  recognition  of  the 
council  of  Pisa,  would  have  acknowledged  the  competency  of  that  spir- 
itual court.  He  himself,  however,  addressed  to  Rome  a  complaint 
against  the  archbishop,  and  the  latter  was  cited  to  Rome  on  the  14th 
of  December  of  the  year  1409.  Yet  in  the  meanwhile  the  more  gene- 
ral commotions  in  the  church  brought  about  a  change  in  the  whole  sit- 
uation of  the  affair. 

After  the  council  of  Pisa  had  successfully  asserted  itself  as  the  supreme 
tribunal  of  the  church,  the  archbishop  dared  no  longer  to  resist.  He  ac- 
knowledged Alexander  V,  the  pope  appointed  by  the  council.  But  when 
the  cause  of  the  council  had  made  good  its  way  through  Bohemia,  Huss 
received  no  thanks  for  what  he  had  done  in  the  struggle  with  the  domi- 
nant  church  party  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  the  council. 
Zbynek  was  able  to  obtain  more  from  the  pope  for  giving  up  his  oppo- 
sition. His  complaints,  laid  before  the  latter,  respecting  the  dissemina- 
tion of  the  Wicklifite  heresy  in  these  districts,  met  with  the  more  ready 
acceptance  because  of  his  submission  ;  and  Alexander  V.  was  induced 
by  the  archbishop  to  put  forth,  soon  afterwards  and  as  early  as  De- 
cember of  the  year  1409,  a  bull  in  which  he  declares  he  had  heard  that 
the  heresies  of  Wicklif,  and  especially  his  denial  of  the  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation,  was  spreading  far  and  wide  in  Bohemia.  He  called 
upon  the-  archbishop  to  employ  vigorous  measures  for  the  suppression 
of  these  heresies.  He  should  cause  all  the  writings  of  Wicklif  to  be  de- 
livered up  into  his  hands,  appoint  a  committee  of  four  doctors  of  theol- 
ogy and  two  doctors  of  canon  law  to  examine  the  same,  and  proceed  in 
conformity  with  the  judgment  they  should  give.  All  clergymen  who  re- 
fused  to  deliver  up  those  writings,  or  who  should  defend  Wicklifite  here- 
sies, he  should  cause  to  be  arrested  and  deprived  of  their  benefices, 
and  in  case  of  necessity  the  aid  of  the  secular  power  should  be  called  in. 
As  { rivate  chapels  served  to  spread  errors  among  the  people,  sermons 
for  the  future  should  be  preached,  in  Bohemia,  only  in  cathedrals, 
parish  and  conventual  churches,  and  prohibited  in  all  private  churches.^ 
This  papal  bull  did  not  arrive  in  Bohemia  until  ten  weeks  after  it  had 

1  Depos.  test.  1.  c.  p.  129  and  130.  2  For  Alexander's  bull,  see  Raynaldi  an- 

nates ecclesiastic,  torn.  XVII,  pag.  396. 


260  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

been  put  forth,  and  was  proclaimed  on  the  9th  of  March,  1410.     It  was 
the  first  in  the  series  of  great  convulsions,  which  the  Bohemian  church 
was  destined  henceforth  to  suffer,  the  beginning  of  the  great  com- 
motions in  the  midst  of  which  Huss  was  borne  on,  from  one  step  in  ad- 
vance to  another.     Zbynek  had  probably  been  the  more  confident  that 
by  means  of  this  expression  of  the  supreme  authority  of  the  church  he 
should  be  able  to  crush  the  party  at  a  blow,  because  King  Wenceslaus 
had  not  only  recognized  Alexander  V.  as  a  pope  elected  by  the  council 
favored  by  himself,  but  in  addition  to  this  had,  in  earlier  times,  been 
on  terms  of  personal  friendship  with  the  new  pope.  For  the  latter,  when 
Cardinal  Villargi,  had  decidedly  supported  the  cause  of  the  king  in  his 
competition  for  the  imperial  dignity  ;  and  it  might  therefore  be  ex- 
pected that  the  king  would  be  ready  to  evince  his  gratitude  by  obedi- 
ence to  all  his  ordinances.     But  the  bull,  which  bore  evidence  on  its 
face  of  being  a  work  of  Zbynek,  aimed  particularly  against  Huss  and 
his  friends,  was  received  with  great  indignation  by  important  men  in 
Bohemia  and  about  the  king's  person.     In  the  present  excited  state  of 
feeling,  men  easily  foresaw  that  great  disturbances  must  necessarily 
arise  if  the  archbishop  carried  the  bull  into  execution.     The  cause  of 
Huss  was  espoused  by  the  most  eminent  of  the  nobility  around  the  per- 
son of  the  king.i    By  their  influence  the  king's  prejudices  were  excited 
against  the  bull  and  against  Zbynek  the  author  of  it.     His  suspicions 
may  have  been  aroused  against  Zbynek  as  an  enemy  to  the  realm,  the 
man  who  had  brought  it  into  the  bad  odor  of  heresy,  though  he  himself 
had,  as  Huss  asserted,  very  recently  declared  it,  as  the  result  of  an  in- 
vestigation made  under  the  sanction  of  the  assembly  in  Prague  already 
mentioned,  that  no  Wicklifite  heresy  existed  at  present  in  Bohemia. 
The  bull  was  declared  to  be  in  many  ways  a  garbled  and  interpolated  one, 
and  therefore  of  no.  force.     Huss  himself  excited  suspicions  against  it 
on  this  ground,  and  employed  at  first  every  lawful  means  in  his  power, 
under  the  circumstances  of  those  times,  to  withhold  obedience   while 
he  showed  all  respect  to  the  Roman  church.     He  appealed  from  the 
pope  male  informato  to  the  pope  melius  informandum.    The  archbishop, 
however,  was  not  to  be  disturbed  by  all  this.    He  issued  his  prohibition 
against  preaching  in  private  chapels,  and  applying  this  also  to  Bethle- 
hem chapel,  Huss  thought  this  contrary  to  the  right  granted  in  the 
foundation-charter  ;  he  thought  he  was  secured  from  harm  himself  by 
his  appeal ;  and  at  all  events  was  determined  to  act  on  the  principle 
that  it  was  right  to  obey  God  rather  than  men,  and  that  no  man  should 
be  induced  to  desist  from  a  divine  vocation  by  the  arbitrary  will  of  an 
individual.     Zbynek  issued,  moreover,  a  command  that  all  the  writings 

1  His  connection  with  those  in  power  ciples  on  the  minds  of  the  people  and  of 

was  an  odious  imputation  brought  against  the  knights,  from  which  everything   else 

Huss  by  the  above  mentioned  abbot  of  resulted  as  a  matter  of  course;  just  as  in 

Dola  ;  Et  popularis  vulgi  favor  et  saecu-  later  times  Luther  acquired,  without  seek- 

lare  brachiuni  praestabat'manifestum  prae-  ing  it,  his  mighty  influence  over  the  minds 

sidium.     Fez  thes.  IV,  2,  pag.  390.     But  of  the  people  and  the  knights,  through  the 

Huss  stood  by  no  means  in  need  of  the  power  of  the  truths  which  he  proclaimed, 

secular  power  to  promote  the  spread  of  his  From  the  respectable  knights  and  barons, 

principles ;  but  it  was  a  consequence  of  however,  the  influence  in  Bohemia  passed 

the  influence  of  his  mind  and  of  his  prin-  over  to  the  king. 


DELIVERING   UP   OF   WICKLIF's   WRITINGS.  261 

of  Wicklif  should  be  delivered  up  to  him  for  examination  within  six  days. 
Huss  obeyed  this  injunction,  declaring  himself  ready  (which  certainly 
was  honestly  meant  on  his  part,  and  cannot  justly  be  ascribed  to  any 
motive  of  pride)  to  condemn  them  himself,  whenever  an  error  could  be 
pointed  out  in  them.  Zbynek  now  actually  proceeded,  after  many 
writings  of  Wicklif  had  been  delivered  up,  to  appoint  a  committee  of 
examination  in  the  manner  prescribed  in  the  bull ;  and  this  committee 
pronounced  sentence  of  condemnation  on  a  certain  number  of  Wicklif's 
writings  :  the  Dialogue,  the  Trialogue,  and  also  (a  thing  which  was 
afterwards  particularly  noticed  by  the  friends  of  Wicklif,  and  with 
good  reason,  and  which  would  cause  the  whole  affair  to  be  regarded  in 
a  more  unfavorable  light)  on  writings  of  simply  philosophical  import,  as 
for  example  his  important  work  on  the  reality  of  general  conceptions, 
and  on  works  containing  nothing  but  mathematical  and  physical  disqui- 
sitions, as  their  titles  sufficiently  indicated.  These  books  were  all  to  be 
committed  to  the  flames,  and  thus  put  out  of  the  way  of  doing  harm. 
The  very  announcement  of  this  sentence  produced  disturbances.  At  a 
convocation  of  the  university,  it  was  resolved  to  send  in  a  petition  to 
the  king,  that  he  would  prevent  the  execution  of  such  a  sentence,  on 
account  of  the  extreme  peril  to  which  it  would  expose  the  peace  of  the 
university  and  of  all  Bohemia.1  The  king  promised  the  delegates  of  the 
university  that  he  would  comply  with  their  request.  The  archbishop,  on 
hearing  of  this,  hastened  to  get  the  start  of  the  king  ;  and  on  the  next 
day,  the  16th  of  June,  repeated  the  proclamation  of  the  above  sentence 
on  the  writings  of  Wicklif.  When  the  king  learned  of  this,  he  caused 
the  archbishop  to  be  asked,  whether  it  was  really  his  intention  to  burn 
the  books.  Zbynek  promised  that  he  would  do  nothing  against  Wick- 
lif's writings  without  the  king's  consent ;  and  for  this  reason  put  off  the 
execution  of  the  sentence.  But  he  was  far  from  intending  really  to 
give  up  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  in  spite  of  all  the  remonstrances 
against  such  a  proceeding,  alleging  in  excuse  of  his  conduct  that  the 
king  had  not  expressly  forbidden  him  to  burn  the  books.  On  the  16th 
of  July,  1410,  having  surrounded  his  palace  with  a  watch,  he  actually 
caused  two  hundred  volumes,  among  which  were  not  only  the  writings 
of  Wicklif,  but  also  some  of  Militz  and  others,  to  be  burned,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  rights  of  private  property,  as  was  afterwards  remem- 
bered to  his  reproach.  This  step  of  the  archbishop  was  the  signal  for 
great  disturbances  and  violent  controversies  in  Prague.  Even  blood 
was  spilt.  So  great  a  movement  in  the  minds  of  men  could  not  be  put 
down  with  force.  The  attempt  to  put  it  down  by  an  act  of  arbitrary 
power,  would  have  only  led  to  still  greater  violence.  The  burning  of  the 
books  had  no  other  effect  than  to  expose  the  archbishop  to  contempt  and 
ridicule  ;  and  it  was  a  great  shock  to  his  authority.  Ribald  and  satiri- 
cal songs,  of  which  he  was  made  the  subject,  were  openly  sun<r  in  the 
streets  of  Prague,  to  the  purport,  "  the  archbishop  has  yet  to  learn  his 
A  B  C  ;  he  has  caused  books  to  be  burned,  without  knowing  what  was 

1  Ne  exinde  confusio  toti  regno,  domi-     zel's  account  of  the  life  of  King  Winces- 
no  regi  et  universitati  inferatnr.    See  Tel-    laus  I.  in  Urkuudsnbuch,  No.  220,  p.  130. 


262  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

in  them  !  "  *  King  Wenceslaus  himself,  though  no  friend  of  the  arch- 
bishop, believed  it  necessary  to  put  some  check  on  these  proceedings  ; 
and  is  said  to  have  forbidden,  on  pain  of  death,  these  satirical  songs  on 
the  archbishop.2  Two  contemporaries,  belonging  to  the  opposite  par- 
ties, are  agreed  in  stating  that  by  this  burning  of  his  books,  the  enthu- 
siasm for  Wicklif  was  increased  rather  than  diminished.  One  was 
Huss's  zealous  opponent,  the  abbot  Stephen  of  Dola,  who  at  the  same 
time  was  blind  enough  to  trace  the  origin  of  all  the  troubles  to  the  diso- 
bedience of  Huss.  This  writer  cites,  from  the  lips  of  one  of  Wicklif's  ad- 
herents, the  following  words  :  "  The  archbishop  has  burnt  many  famous 
writings  of  Wicklif;  yet  he  has  not  been  able  to  burn  them  all.  For  we 
have  still  quite  a  number  left  ;  and  we  are  continually  searching  in 
all  quarters  for  others  to  add  to  this  number,  and  to  supply  the  place 
of  those  |ost.  Let  the  archbishop  again  bid  us  deliver  them  up  to  him, 
and  let  him  see  whether  we  will  obey  him  !  "  3  The  second  is  Huss 
himself,  who  says  :  "  I  call  the  burning  of  books  a  poor  business. 
Such  burning  never  yet  removed  a  single  sin  from  the  hearts  of  men 
(if  he  who  condemned  could  not  prove  anything),  but  has  only  de- 
stroyed many  truths,  many  beautiful  and  fine  thoughts,  and  multiplied 
among  the  people  disturbances,  enmities,  suspicions,  and  murders."  * 
When  now  the  news  of  the  death  of  Alexander  V,  and  of  the  accession 
to  the  government  of  John  XXIII,  arrived  in  Prague,  Huss  followed  up 
his  earlier  appeal,  already  mentioned,  by  another  addressed  to  this  new 
pope.  In  this  appellatory  document  he  endeavored  to  point  out  what 
was  arbitrary  and  unreasonable  in  the  conduct  of  Zbynek,  that  he  had 
caused  books  to  be  burnt  which  contained  no  theological  matter  what- 
ever, but  which  related  simply  to  worldly  sciences,  quite  contrary  to 
the  example  of  holy  men  of  old,  as  for  example  Moses  and  Daniel, 
who  appropriated  to  themselves  the  knowledge  of  unbelieving  nations. 
Paul  cited  verses  from  Grecian  poets  ;  the  church  had  always  sanc- 
tioned the  practice  of  studying  the  books  of  heretics  for  the  purpose  of 

1  Pelzel  Gesch.  Wenceslaus  Thl.  II,  s.  Christi  odiosam  multiplicationem  lenoci- 
568.  nantis   cantici  didicisset   serenissimns    et 

2  The  abbot  of  Dola  describes  the  im-  magnificus  princeps  Romanorum  et  Bohe- 
pression  produced  by  the  burning  of  the  miae  rex  Wenceslaus,  divino  edoctus  spi- 
books,  in  the  words  presently  to  be  cited,  ritu,  volens  tam  stolidam  et  publicam  jrre- 
but  unjustly  lays  the  blame  of  all  not  on  verentiam  devota  et  debita  recompensare 
the  caprice  and  folly  of  the  archbishop,  reverentia,  regio  publicae  vocis  statuit  de- 
whom  he  designates  as  a  man  of  God,  but  creto,  ut  nequaquam  quisquam  amplius 
to  the  mischievous  influence  of  Huss,  eandem  dementiae  cantilenam  non  solum 
though  the  whole  was  a  natural  conse-  sub  facultatum  forensium,  sed  et  sub  eapi- 
quence  of  the  affair,  and  such  as  bj  the  talis  sententiae  poena  audeat  decantare. 
laws  of  human  nature  always  take  place  Stephen  of  Dola  in  Antihussus,  by  Petz, 
under  similar  circumstances.     The   abbot  IV,  2.  p.  417  and  418. 

of  Dola  says  of  the  archbishop :   Factus  3  Pez  thes.  IV,  2,  pag.  386. 

fuit   ex    inobedientia  et   rebellione    illius  4  Malum  dico  combustionem  librorum, 

Mag.  Hus  velut  contemptibilis  et  paene  quae  combustio  nullum  peccatum  de  cord- 

fabula  in  populo.  ita  ut  plerique  insolentes  ibus  hominum  (nisi  condemnatores  proba- 

vulgares   ac  ironicas  de  eodem  viro   dei  verint)    sustulit,   sed  veritates   multas   et 

confingerent  et  decanerent  cantiones  pub-  setentias  pulchras   et   subtiles   in   scripto 

lice  per  plateas  contra  justissimam  et  zelo  destruxit.  et  in  populo  disttirbia,  invidias, 

catholicae  fidei  commodam  combustionem  diffamationes,  odia  multi plica vit  et  homi- 

librorum  istius  haereticae  pravitatis.     Cu-  cidia.     Hus  pro  defensione  libri  de  trini- 

jus  cum  frequentationem  et  irreverentiae  tate  Joann.  Wiclef,  opp.  I,  fol.  106. 


APPEAL    OF    HUSS    TO    JOHN    XXIII.  263 

refuting  them  ;   and  at  the  universities  provided  with  papal  privileges, 
the  writings  of  Aristotle  and  Averrhoes  were  studied,  though  they  con- 
tained much  that  was  contrary  to  the  truths  of  faith.     The  writings  of 
Origen  were  not  burned,  and  yet  heresies  were  to  be  found  in  them ; 
and  in  the  short  space  of  time  occupied  by  the  commission,  it  was  im- 
possible that  so  many  books  could  be  so  thoroughly  read  and  examined 
as  to  enable  the  members  to  pass  judgment  upon  them.    Against  the 
prohibition  to  preach  in  Bethlehem  chapel,  he  contends  that  Christ, 
who  left  behind  him  the  seed  of  his  word  as  the  provision  for  souls,  did 
not  mean  to  have  it  bound.     Christ  himself  preached  everywhere,  in 
the  streets,  in  the  fields,  and  on  the  lake.     For  if  he  had  not  left  be- 
hind, for  us,  the  seed  of  his  word,  we  should  have  been  even  as  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.    After  his  resurrection,  he  had  transferred  the  office  of 
preaching  to  his  disciples  forever.    With  this  commission  of  Christ,  and 
the  ordinances  of  the  fathers,  this  prohibition  of  Zbynek  stood  in  direct 
contradiction.    And  he  cites  the  rule  that,  in  things  necessary  to  salva- 
tion, one  should  obey  God  rather  than  man.    Huss  made  this  appeal  in 
conjunction  with  many  other  masters  and  preachers.1     The  language 
which  he  employs  in  it  was  little  suited  indeed  to  be  understood  or  ap- 
preciated by  the  monster  John  XXIII.  and  the  court  which  he  had 
gathered.     Huss,  from  this  time  onward,  composed  several  writings, 
which  seem  to  have  had  their  origin  in  public  disputations  held  by  him 
in  the  university  ;2    and  in  these  productions  he  expounded,  more  at 
length,  the  reasons  why  he  could  not  obey  the  archbishop  in  those  ordi- 
nances, and  defended  many  doctrines  and  writings  of  Wicklif  against  the 
condemnation  that  had  been  passed  on  them.    These  papers  evince  the 
christian  temper  of  his  mind  at  that  time  ;  they  show  how  firmly  re- 
solved he  was  already  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all  things  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  and  that  even  then  martyrdom  was  not  far  absent  from  his 
thoughts ;  and  they  also  show  with  what  enthusiastic  confidence,  in- 
spired by  a  christian  sense  of  the  force  of  truth,  he  looked  forward  to 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  truth  he  defended.     We  may  mention  here 
his  tract  De  trinitate,  which  he  wrote  in  the  year  1410.     He  begins  the 
public  academical  act,  from  which  that  paper  proceeded,  by  explaining, 
that  it  had  never  entered  into  his  mind  to  persist  in  obstinately  main- 
taining anything  which  was  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  in  any 
way  erroneous  ;  but  if  he  asserted  anything  of  this  sort,  from  ignorance 
or  inadvertency,  he  would  cheerfully  and  humbly  retract  it.    And  if  any 
person  of  the  church,  whoever  he  might  be,  would  teach  him  better  by 
quotation  from  Scripture,  or  rational  argument,  he  was  perfectly  ready 
to  concur  with  him.    "  For  —  he  says  —  from  the  earliest  period  of  my 
studies  until  now,  have  I  laid  it  down  as  a  rule,  that  whenever  I  heard 
a  more  correct  opinion  on  any  subject  whatever  advanced,  I  would,  with 
joy  and  humility,  give  up  my  earlier  opinion  ;  being  well  aware  that 
what  we  know  is  vastly  less  than  what  we  do  not  know."3     In  a  later 

1  Apellatio  Joann.  Hus  ah  Archiepis-     ascendo.     Opp.  I,  fol.  105. 

copo  ad  sedem  apoBtolicam,  opp.  I,  fol.  89.        3  Nam  a  primo  Btudii  mei  tempore  hoc 

2  As  we  infer  from  the  words  witli  which     mihi  statui   pro  regula,  ut  quotiescunqoe 
his  tract  De  trinitate  begins :  Cathedram     saniorem  setentiam  in  qoacunqae  materia 


234  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

paper  on  Tythes,  of  the  year  1412,  he  points  out  three  different  sources 
of  the  knowledge  of  that  truth  which  is  always  to  be  held  fast  —  Holy 
Scripture,  reason,  and  of  the  senses  experience.1  Not  as  though  Huss 
meant  to  place  these  truths  on  a  level,  as  to  their  substance  and  matter  ; 
but  as  truthfulness,  and  steadfastness  in  maintaining  that  which  had  been 
made  out  as  true,  belonged  among  the  fundamental  traits  of  his  charac- 
ter, so  he  was  resolved  never  to  give  up,  at  any  price,  a  truth  which  he 
had  gained,  whatever  it  might  be,  or  from  whatever  source  it  might 
have  come.  We  see  how,  in  the  soul  of  Huss,  it  was  a  principle  already 
formed  and  firmly  established,  to  derive  all  the  truths  of  faith  directly 
from  Scripture,  and  to  acknowledge  nothing  to  be  such  truth  which  did 
not  appear  to  rest  on  that  foundation.  As  Christ  was  the  great  centre 
of  his  faith  and  of  his  life,  so  he  had  determined  to  adhere  only  to  his 
word  as  the  rule- of  faith  and  life.  But  with  this  he  could  still  join  a 
firm  adherence  to  the  existing  doctrines  of  the  church,  being  not  as  yet 
conscious  of  any  contradiction  between  them  and  the  sacred  Scriptures  ; 
because  his  whole  theological  development  had  sprung  out  of  the  prac- 
tical element.  As  he  had  not  the  remotest  idea  of  deserting  the  actual 
church  and  forming  a  new  one,  so  he  could  still  seek  to  unite  the  two 
things  together  ;  though  he  was  already  firmly  resolved  to  sacrifice 
everything  to  the  truth  as  clearly  gathered  from  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
reject  all  that  stood  in  conflict  with  it,  or  which  he  clearly  made  out  to 
be  such.  He  still  clung  to  church  tradition  ;  but  it  appeared  to  him 
only  as  the  historical  evolution  of  the  truth  contained,  as  to  its  essence, 
in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  an  evolution  of  the  germs  therein  contained, 
as  he  expresses  it  in  his  tract  De  decimis?  mentioned  just  above,  where 
he  says  :  "  Law,  as  determined  by  the  prelates,  is  styled  canonical  law  ; 
and  its  purpose  is  to  restrain,  within  due  limits,  whatever  stands  in  con- 
flict with  the  holy  laws  of  the  church.  It  may  be  compared  with  the 
evangelical  law,  the  latter  being  the  articles  of  faith  which  have  been 
determined  by  the  holy  synods.  As  the  man  remains  the  same,  though 
he  may  appear  in  a  different  dress,  and  under  different,  changeable  and 
accidental  characters,  so  it  is  in  the  same  law  or  the  same  evangelical 
truth  which  is  contained  implicitly,  or  unfolded  in  the  gospel,  and  is  after- 
wards expounded  by  the  church  in  another  but  not  contradictory  man- 
ner."3 He  declares,  in  reference  to  the  forty-five  propositions  of  Wick- 
lif,  "  Because  it  tends  to  prejudice  too  much  the  interests  of  salvation, 
to  condemn  any  truth  without  examination,4  as  our  Lord  says,  Judge 

percipcrem,  a  priori   sententia  gaudenter  ad  rebelles  sacris  regulis  coercendum.     Et 

et  humiliter  declinarem,  seiens,  quoniam  potest  etiam  intelligi,  ut  eommunicans  juri 

ilia   quae    scimus,   sunt   minima   illorum,  evangelieo,  ut  sunt  articuli  fidei,  in  Sanctis 

quae  ignoramus.     Hus  de  trinitate,  opp.  I,  synodis   sive   conciliis    explanati.      Sicut 

fol.  105.  enim  idem  est  homo  in  vestibus  aut  acci- 

1  Videlicet  in  veritate  in  scriptura  sacra  dentibus  notitiam  inducentibus  varians, 
explicita,  in  veritate  ab  infallibili  ratione  sic  eadem  est  lex  vel  Veritas  evangelica  in 
elaborata  et  in  veritate  experimentaliter  a  evangelio  implicita  vel  detecta,  et  per  ec- 
sensu  cognita.  Hus  de  decimis,  opp.  I,  fol.  clesiam  postmodum  aliter,  sed  non  con- 
125,  2.  trarie  explanata. 

2  Hus  opp.  I  fol.  128,  2.  *  In   the   edition   laying  before  us  we 
s  Jus  canonicum  vocatur  jus  a  praelato    find,  it  is  true,  exanime  condemnare  veri- 

vel  praelatis  iustitutum  et  promulgatum    tatem ;  but  we  think  we  may  take  it  for 


DEFENS.  QUOR.  ART.  J.  WICKLIP   BY  HUSS.  265 

not,  that  ye  be  not  judged,  the  university  of  Prague  demands,  so  far  as 
it  does  not  concur  in  the  condemnation  of  those  forty-five  articles,  the 
proof,  from  the  appointed  doctors,  of  the  reasonableness  of  that  con- 
demnation, and  that  they  should  show  wherein  each  of  those  articles  is 
false,  by  the  authority  of  Scripture,  or  by  arguments  of  infallible  reason." 
In  reference  to  the  prohibition  directed  against  preaching  in  Beth- 
lehem chapel,  he  says :  "  Where  is  there  any  authority  of  Holy  Writ, 
or  where  are  there  any  rational  grounds  for  forbidding  preaching  in  so 
public  a  place,  fitted  up  for  that  very  purpose,  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  city  of  Prague  ?  Nothing  else  can  be  at  the  bottom  of  this,  but 
the  jealousy  of  Antichrist.1  He  exhibits  Pope  Alexander  V.  in  con- 
trast with  the  apostles.  "  For  — says  he  —  when  that  pope  heard  at 
his  court  that  Bohemia  received  the  word  of  God,  he  did  not  send 
Peter  and  John  to  pray  for  the  Bohemians,  and  to  lay  their  hands  on 
them,  that  in  hearing  the  word  of  God  they  might  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  but  he  sent  back  some  ill-disposed  persons  belonging  to  Bohe- 
mia, and  commanded,  in  his  bull,  that  the  word  of  God  should  not  be 
preached  in  private  chapels."  '2  Huss  opposes  to  the  arbitrary  self-will  of 
a  man,  which  would  hinder  him  from  preaching,  his  own  divine  call.  He 
says  :  "He  who  lives  conformably  to  the  law  of  Christ,  and  animated 
by  a  disposition  of  sincere  love,  has  singly  in  view  the  glory  of  God, 
and  his  own  and  his  neighbor's  salvation,  and  preaches  not  lies,  not 
ribaldry,  not  fables,  but  the  law  of  Christ  and  the  doctrines  of  the  holy 
fathers  of  the  church,  he  who  so  preaches  when  times  of  distress 
come,  when  a  pope  or  a  bishop  is  wanting,  or  he  who  takes  his  stand 
in  opposition  to  heretics  or  false  teachers,  such  a  person  never  arro- 
gates to  himself  the  call  to  preach  without  authority ;  and  it  is  not  to 
be  doubted,  that  the  man  in  such  case  is  sent  of  God."  The  inter- 
nal divine  call,  Huss  asserts,  which  springs  from  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  the  soul,  is  of  more  authority  than  any  outward  call  proceed- 
ing from  men  ;  and  a  person  may  be  constrained  by  this  internal  call 
from  God  to  stand  forth  even  in  opposition  to  the  ordinances  of  man. 
Those  ecclesiastical  laws  had  been  given  only  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
straining the  bad.  Not  for  a  righteous  man  is  the  law  made,  but  for 
sinners.     Where  the  spirit  of  God  is,  there  is  liberty .3     Now  we  may 

granted  that  this,  as  many  other  passages  had  not  been  forbidden  him  to  preach,  but 

in  this  edition  of  the  works  of  Huss,  is  in-  to  found  a  school  in  this  place;  which, 

correct,  and    that   the   text   should   read,  however,  in  the  sense  of  Huss  was  nothing 

sine  examine.     Defens.  quor.  art.  J.  Wic-  else  than  to  found  here  a  genuine  christian 

lef,  opp.  I,  fol.  111.  church  ;  though  to  this  abbot  it  would  ap- 

1  Dc  trinit.,  opp.  I,  fol  106,  2.     The  ab-  pear  only  as  a  "  School  of  Satan.      So  lie 

bot  of  Dola  quotes  as  a  common  saying  expresses  himself:  Non  ut  verbum  Christi 

among  the  party  of  Huss,  that  the  word  oceultetur,  sed  ut  occasio  conventiculi  et 

of  God  cannot  be  bound.    His  opinion  on  satanicae  scholae  illius  impii  Wicleff  bae- 

the  contrary  was,  that  Huss  had  not  been  retici  de  medio  tolleretur.    Antihussus,  Pez 

forbidden   to  preach  at  all,  but  only,  for  thes.  IV,  2,  pag.  373. 

special  reasons,  to  preach  in  this  particu-  'z  Responsio    ad   scriptum   octo  doctor- 

lar  chapel;  and  here  the  duty  of  obedience  um,  opp.  I,  fol.  298,  1. 

to  his  superiors  ought  to  have  been  felt  3  Justo  enim  lex  non  est  posita,  sed  ubi 

by  him  as  of  paramount  obligation.     The  spiritus  dei,  ibi  libertas,  et  si  spiritu  dei 

Bethlehem    Chapel  is   here  denominated  ducimini,  non  estis  sub  lege.     Def.  articul. 

the  Wicletistarum  insidiosa  spelunca.     It  quor.  J.  Wicleff,  opp.  I,  fol.  115. 

VOL.    V.  23 


2Q6 


HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 


easily  conceive  how  revolting  such  language  of  christian  freedom  of 
spirit  _  must  have  appeared  to  those  who  knew  of  nothing  higher  than 
the  stiff  ordinances  of  the  church ;  how  they  must  have  looked  upon  it 
as  tending  to  the  overthrow  of  all  ecclesiastical  order.     But  the  ob- 
jection now  brought  up,  was  that  such  an  internal  divine  call  was 
hidden  from  all  but  the  subject  of  it.     Every  man  could  affirm  this  of 
himself:    every  heretic,  every  fanatic,   might   stand  up  under  that 
pretence.     Some  outward  sign  of  such  an  internal  divine  call  was 
requisite  therefore ;  either  an  express  testimony  of  Holy  Scripture,  or 
an  evident  miracle.     To  this  Huss  replied  :    and  the  reader  will  be 
struck  with  the  coincidence  of  the  views  he  expresses  with  those  of 
Matthew  of  Janow,  —  "Antichrist  was  to  have  the  power  of  deceiving 
by  wonders.     In  the  last  times,  miracles  are  to  be  retrenched  from 
the  church.     She  is  to  go  about  only  in  the  form  of  a  servant ;   she  is 
to  be  tried  by  patience.     The  lying  wonders  of  the  servants  of  Anti- 
christ are  to  serve  for  the  trial  of  faith.     By  its  own  intrinsic  power, 
faith  shall  preserve  itself  in  the  elect,  superior  to  all  arts  of  deception. 
This  is  the  substance  of  that  which  Huss  sets  forth  and  illustrates  by 
copious  extracts  from  the  sayings  of  the  older  church  teachers.    "  Pro- 
phecy— he  says  —  is  wrapt  in  obscurity  ;  the  gift  of  healing  removed  ; 
the  power  of  long-protracted  fasting  diminished  ;  the  word  of  doctrine 
silent ;   miracles  are  withheld.     Not  that  divine   providence  utterly 
suspends  these  things ;  but  they  are  not  to  be  seen  openly  and  in 
great  variety,  as  in  earlier  times.     All  this,  however,  is  so  ordered  by 
a  wonderful  arrangement  of  divine  providence,  that  God's  mercy  and 
justice  may  be  revealed  precisely  in  this  way ;  for  while  the  church 
of  Christ  must,  after  the  withdrawal  of  her  miraculous  gifts,  appear  in 
greater  lowliness,  and  the  righteous  who  venerate  her  on  account  of 
the  hope  of  heavenly  good,  not  on  account  of  visible  signs,  fail  of  their 
reward  in  this  earthly  life,  there  will,  on  the  other  hand,  be  a  more 
speedy  manifestation  of  the  temper  of  the  wicked  who,  disdaining  to 
follow  after  the  invisible  things  which  the  church  promises,  cling  fast 
to  visible  signs."  • 

In  this  mode  of  contemplating  the  condition  of  the  church  in  the 
last  times,  we  recognize  an  adherent  of  the  doctrine  of  absolute  pre- 
destination ;  though  the  truth  contained  in  these  same  views  might 
also  be  held  independent  of  this  doctrine.  This  servant-form  of  the 
true  church,  in  which  the  power  of  the  invisible  godlike  is  all  that 
attracts,  as  contrasted  with  the  abundance  of  lying  wonders  in  the 
worldly  church  of  Antichrist,  appearing  in  visible  glory,  serves  as  a 

1  Nam  prophetia  absconditur,  curation-  suhtractis  miraculoram  virtutibus  sancta 

um  gratia  aufertur,  prolixioris  abstinenitae  ecclesia  velut  abjectior  apparet  et  bono- 

virtus  imminuitur,  doctrinae  verba  conti-  rum  praemium  quiescit,  qui  illam  propter 

cescunt,  miraculorum   prodigia   tollentur.  spem  coelestium,  non  propter  praesentia 

Quae  quidem  nequaquam  superna  disposi-  signa  venerantur,  et  malorum  mens  contra 

tio  funditus  subtrahit,  sed  non  haec,  sicut  ilia  citius  ostenditur,  qui  sequi  quae  pro- 

prioribus  temporibus  aperte  ac  multiplici-  mittit  invisibilia  negligunt,  dum  signis  vi- 

ter  ostendit,  quod  tamen  mira  dispensa-  sibilibus   continentur.      Defensio    articul. 

tione  agitur,  ut  una  ex  re  divina  simul  et  quor.  J.  Wicleff,  opp.  I,  fol.  115,  2. 
pietas  et  justitia  compleatur,  dum  enim 


DEFENSIO   ART.    QUOR.  J.    WICKLIF   BY   HUSS.  267 

means  of  separating  the  elect  from  the  reprobate.  The  elect  must 
pass  through  this  trial  in  order  to  bring  out  their  genuine  character  ; 
the  reprobate  must  be  deceived  according  to  the  just  judgment  of 
God.  He  proceeds  to  infer,  therefore,  from  what  had  been  said,  that 
in  these  times  it  is  rather  the  servants  of  Antichrist,  than  the  servants 
of  Christ,  who  will  make  themselves  known  by  wonders.  He  says : 
"•It  is  a  greater  miracle  to  confess  the  truth  and  practise  righteous- 
ness, than  to  perform  marvellous  works  to  the  outward  senses."  And 
he  then  adds :  The  priest  or  deacon  who  loves  his  enemies,  despises 
riches,  esteems  as  nothing  the  glory  of  this  world,  avoids  entangling 
himself  in  worldly  business,  and  patiently  endures  terrible  threaten- 
ings,  even  persecutions  for  the  gospel's  sake,  such  a  priest  or  deacon 
performs  miracles,  and  has  the  witness  within  him  that  he  is  a  genuine 
disciple  of  Christ."  He  appeals  to  various  fine  remarks  of  Augustin, 
Gregory,  and  Chrysostom,  on  miracles,  those  witnesses  to  the  genuine 
Christian  view  of  the  miracle,  which,  in  spite  of  all  errors,  runs  through 
the  whole  history  of  the  church,  and  also  to  the  words  of  Christ,  Matt. 
5:  16.  JohniO:  38.  Matt.  7 :  22.,  and  then  concludes:  "It  is 
evident  that  every  priest  or  deacon,  who  confesses  the  truth  and 
practises  righteousness,  has  a  virtual  testimony  in  this  very  thing,  that 
he  is  sent  of  God,  and  that  he  needs  not  prove  this  divine  mission  by 
miracles,  nor  by  an  express  passage  of  Holy  Writ,  relating  personally 
to  himself  as  one  sent  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel."  i 

Even  now  Huss  gives  utterance  to  the  resolution,  which  he  observed 
faithfully  to  the  end.  "  In  order  that  I  may  not  make  myself  guilty, 
then,  by  my  silence,  forsaking  the  truth  for  a  piece  of  bread,  or  through 
fear  of  man,  I  avow  it  to  be  my  purpose  to  defend  the  truth  which 
God  has  enabled  me  to  know,  and  especially  the  truth  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  even  to  death ;  since  I  know  that  the  truth  stands,  and  is 
forever  mighty,  and  abides  eternally ;  and  with  her  there  is  no  respect 
of  persons.9  x\nd,  if  the  fear  of  death  should  terrify  me,  still  I  hope 
in  my  God  and  in  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  the  Lord 
himself  will  give  me  firmness.  And  if  I  have  found  favor  in  his  sight, 
he  will  crown  me  with  martyrdom.3  But,  what  more  glorious  triumph 
is  there  than  this  ?  Inciting  his  faithful  to  this  victory  our  Lord 
s-ays:  Fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body,  (Matt.  10:  28)."  We 
may  here  add  the  words  uttered  by  Huss  in  his  tract  on  Tythes : 
"  As  it  is  necessary  for  men  gifted  with  reason  to  hear,  to  speak,  and 

1  Ex  his  p.atet,  quod  qailibet  diaconus  manum  dcserens   veritatem,  volo    verita- 

vcl  sacerdos  confitens  veritatem  et  faciens  tem,  quam  mini  deus  eognoscere  conces- 

justitiam  habet  testimonium  efficax,  quod  serit,  et  praesertim  scripturae  divinae  us- 

ipse  est  missus  a  deo,  et  quod  non  opor-  que   ad    mortem   defendere,   sciens,   quia 

tet   ipsum   probare   illam   missionem  per  Veritas  manet  et  invalescit  in  aeternum  et 

opcrationem  miracnli,  propter  operation-  obtinet  in  saecula  saeculorum,  apud  quam 

em  justitiae,  nee  per  scripturam,  quae  ex-  non  est  accipere  personas  Deque  dirr'eren- 

pre.-se  ipsum  nomine  exprimeret,  quod  ad  tias.     De  trin.,  opp.  I,  106. 

evangelisandum   a  domino  foret  missus.  3  Et   si   timor  mortis   terrere   voluerit, 

Ibid.  fol.  1 16,  2.  spero  de  deo  meo  et  spiritus  saneti  auxilio, 

'-'  Ne  ergo  istis  speciebus  consensus  per-  quod  ipse  dominus  dabit  constantiam.    Et 

cuterer  et  specialiter  consensu  non  repre-  si  gratiam  invenero  in  oculis  snis,  martyr 

hensionis,  mutescens  culpabiliter,  propter  io  coronabit.    Ibid, 
buccellam  panis,  aut  propter  timorcm  hu- 


2438  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY  AND   DOCTRINE. 

to  love  the  truth,  and  to  guard  carefully  against  everything  that  might 
thwart  it ;  as  the  truth  itself  triumphs  over  everything  and  is  mighty 
forever,  (where  he  refers  to  the  words  of  Christ :  Let  your  communi- 
cation be  Yea,  yea ;  nay,  nay)  ;  who,  but  a  fool,  would  venture  to 
condemn  or  to  affirm  any  article,  especially  in  what  pertains  to  faith 
and  manners,  until  he  has  informed  himself  about  the  truth  of  it  ?  "  1 
If  some  writers,  both  in  ancient2  and  in  modern  times,  have  been 
disposed  to  find  in  Huss  a  proud  or  a  fanatical  striving  after  martyr- 
dom, we  cannot  in  this  agree  with  them  at  all.  It  was  simply  the 
presentiment  of  death,  which  could  not,  in  such  a  time,  fail  to  fill  the 
mind  of  a  witness  for  the  truth,  coming  out  in  the  face  of  the  world  : 
for  that  truth  to  which  he  had  devoted  his  entire  life  as  a  sacrifice. 
The  conduct  of  Huss  down  to  the  hour  of  his  martyrdom  will  show  us 
nothing  but  the  genuine  Christian  martyr,  wko  with  enthusiasm,  yet 
with  cool  self-possession  and  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  seeks  not 
but  accepts  when  offered  the  martyr's  crown  in  godly  joy  from  the 
hand  of  the  giver.  It  was  laid  as  a  serious  charge  against  Huss,  as 
we  have  seen,  that  he  publicly  discussed  contested  articles  of  faith. 
In  reference  to  this,  he  says :  "  How  often  did  Christ  dispute  with 
companies  of  the  Jews  and  priests  ;  how  often,  according  to  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  did  his  disciples,  how  often  have  the  holy  teachers  of 
the  church,  and  the  scholastic  doctors,  disputed  on  the  matters  of 
faith."  3 

The  principles  of  Wicklif  which  Huss  defended,  contained  much  that 
would  make  him  appear  to  the  advocates  of  the  old  hierarchical  sys- 
tem a  very  dangerous  adversary,  a  destructionist ;  and  Huss  himself, 
in  defending  these  principles,  was  led  to  say  many  things  which 
doubtless  were  liable  to  misapprehension.  We  have  already  re- 
marked that,  with  Wicklif,  he  looked  upon  it  as  the  destination  of  the 
clergy  to  copy,  in  all  things,  the  example  of  Christ,  who  took  upon  him 
the  form  of  a  servant,  and  to  resemble  him  therefore  in  poverty.  What- 
ever the  clergy  obtained  for  their  support,  should  be  regarded  simply  as 
gift  of  free  love.  The  spontaneous  affection  of  those  for  whose  spiritual 
benefit  they  labored,  should  afford  them  what  was  necessary  for  the 
body. 3  But  they  should  require  only  what  was  absolutely  needful  for 
their  support,  and  nothing  which  ministered  to  superfluity.4  From  the 
superfluous  abundance  of  temporal  goods,  he  derived  the  corruption  of 
the  worldly  clergy.5  He  was  forced  to  complain  that,  especially  in  Bohe- 
mia, the  fourth  part  of  all  the  landed  estates  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergy .5     Accordingly,  with  Wicklif,  he  finds  the  princes  to  be  in  the 

1  De  decimis,  opp.  I,  fol.  125,  2.  confirmares  te  sequentium,  traderes  te  po- 

2  The  abbot  of  Dola,  in  the  year  1411,  this    flammis    ultricibus    concremandum. 
already  finds   that   Huss  will  die   at  the  Antihussus,  Pez  thes.  IV,  2,  pag.  383. 
stake  rather  than  recant;    but  from  his  3  De  trinitate,  opp.  I,  fol.  107,  2. 

false  conception  of  humility  and  obedience,  4  Compare  his    ract  De  decimis,  of  the 

taken  from  the  position  of  Roman  Cath-  year  1412. 

olicism,  he  sees  in  this  only  a  want  of  hu-  6  Cum  plus  quam  quarta  pars  regni  sit 

mility,  and  spiritual  pride.     So   he  says:  devoluta  ad  manum  mortuam.     De  abla- 

Antequam  humiliatus  revocans  revocanda  tione  bonorum,   vol.  I,    1412,  opp.  I,  fol. 

de  tuae  sublimitatis  descenderes  pe'stilenti  122,  2. 

cathedra,  ut  vel  sic  tuorum  lapidea  corda 


HUSS  ON  RIGHT  OF  PROPERTY.  269 

right ;  and  looks  upon  it  as  a  work  of  christian  charity  in  them  to  de- 
prive the  clergy  of  that  superfluity  of  earthly  goods  which  they  abused, 
and  which  was  the  means  of  their  corruption.1  Thus  should  the  clergy 
be  brought  back  to  poverty  and  to  the  holy  life  of  the  primitive  apos- 
tolical church.  This  was  an  error,  indeed,  in  the  case  of  Huss  as  well  as 
of  Wicklif ;  an  error  that  was  followed  by  mischievous  consequences,  and 
which  arose  from  their  not  paying  sufficient  regard  to  the  course  things 
had  actually  taken  in  history,  and  from  their  supposing  that  a  glorious 
condition  of  the  church  connected  with  an  altogether  different  stage  of 
progress,  was  to  be  thus  suddenly  restored  from  without.  In  expressing 
these  views,  Huss  attached  them  to  a  proposition  already  laid  down  by 
the  ancient  teachers  of  the  church,  which,  theoretically  considered,  con- 
tained in  it  a  sublime  truth,  leading  the  mind  back  to  Christ  himself 
and  the  apostles  ;  but  which,  empirically  apprehended  and  applied  to 
practice,  might  lead  to  the  overthrow  of  all  social  order ;  the  proposi- 
tion, namely,  that  all  rightful  holding  of  property,  in  the  sight  of  God, 
was  conditioned  on  the  subjective  worth  of  the  owner  ;  that  ownership 
could  be  predicated  only  of  the  righteous  ;  in  support  of  which  it  was 
already  customary  among  the  ancients  to  quote  Prov.  17:  6,  according 
to  the  Septuagint  version  and  the  Vulgate.  Now  when  this  proposition 
was  employed  in  justification  of  the  act  of  depriving  the  unworthy 
of  their  property,  the  consequences,  no  doubt,  would  be  very  bad. 
Huss  cites,  in  favor  of  it,  1  Cor.  3  :  21. 2  To  the  same  category  be- 
longs, also,  his  defence  of  Wicklif's  proposition  that  No  man  is  lord 
over  any  possession,  no  man  can  be  king,  or  bishop,  if  he  is  in  mortal 
sin.  Huss  distinguished  three  kinds  of  property,  that  grounded  in  na- 
ture, that  grounded  in  civil  law,  and  that  proceeding  from  grace  and 
justice.  It  never  entered  his  thoughts  to  make  sovereignty  and  su- 
preme authority  dependant  on  the  personal  worth  of  the  incumbent,  or 
to  approve  of  rebellion  against  authority  not  so  founded.  The  very  dis- 
tinction just  set  forth  stood  opposed  to  any  such  mode  of  apprehending 
and  applying  the  proposition.  He  affirms  what,  rightly  understood, 
could  not  be  denied,  that  mortal  sin  infected  not  the  whole  life  only, 
but  as  well  every  single  action  of  the  man  in  detail ;  that  everything 
depended  on  the  governing  disposition,  which  gave  to  everything  its 
moral  character.  But  nothing  could  be  gained  by  this  ;  nothing  but 
mischief  could  ensue  when  a  proposition,  correct  in  itself,  was  so  para- 
doxically expressed,  and  applied  to  questions  of  right,  a  province  of  life 
where  it  ought  never  to  be  applied.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  barren, 
subtle  method  of  scholasticism  in  which  the  fifteenth  century  was  still 
entangled  to  a  far  greater  degree  than  the  flourishing  period  of  scholas- 
ticism had  been  in  the  thirteenth  century,  Huss  would  not  have  ex- 
pended so  much  labor  in  demonstrating  a  point  so  unfruitful  in  its  prac- 
tical application  and  so  liable  to  be  misapprehended.    But  Huss  defends 

1  L.  c.  fol.  120,  2 :  Bectificatio  facillima  *  Temporales  autem  domini  procedentes 

cleri  ad  vitam  Christi  et  apostolorum  et  secundum   caritatis   rcgulam  juste  possi- 

pertinentior  laicis,  ne  ipsi  clerici  vivant  dent  ilia  temporalia,  cum  justorum  sunt 

Christo  contrarie,  videtur  esse  eleemosy-'  omnia.  De  ablat.  bon.,  opp.  I,  fol.  119,2. 
narum  subtractio  et  collatarum  ablatio. 

23* 


270  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

himself  against  the  reproach,  that  by  his  mode  of  representing  office 
as  being  conditioned  on  the  personal  worth  of  the  holder,  he  destroyed 
its  objective  efficiency.  He  says, "we  concede  that  a  bad  pope, bishop, 
or  priest,  is  an  unworthy  minister  of  those  sacraments  by  which  God 
baptizes  and  consecrates,  or  in  other  ways  operates  for  the  advance- 
ment of  his  church.  But  in  the  same  way  he  ordains  much  that  is 
good  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  devil  as  his  minister,  being 
very  mighty,  glorious,  and  praiseworthy  in  this,  that  he  effects  such 
glorious  ends  by  so  reprobate  a  minister.  But  the  minister  effects  it  to 
his  own  condemnation."1 

We  have  already  remarked  that  the  adversaries  of  Huss,  who  would 
have  been  very  glad  to  represent  him  as  an  opponent  of  the  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation,  since  this  would  have  served  beyond  anything  else 
to  fix  upon  him  the  charge  of  heresy,  availed  themselves  for  this  pur- 
pose (perverting  his  words)  of  that  spiritual  apprehension  of  this  sacra- 
ment in  its  significance  for  the  internal  christian  life,  which  was  made 
specially  prominent  by  Huss  in  his  preaching.  As  Huss  ever  laid 
great  stress  on  the  expression  that  Christ  is  himself  the  bread  of  the 
soul,  the  provision  for  eternal  life,  his  enemies  seized  on  such  expres- 
sions to  create  a  suspicion  that  he  did  not  really  believe  in  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  Christ  in  the  Lord's  supper,  as  that  into  which  the  bread  and 
wine  had  been  transformed.  It  was  the  whispering  about  of  such  a 
suspicion  which  seems  to  have  led  Huss  to  compose  his  tract  De  Corpore 
Christi.  In  this  treatise  also,  we  see  how  he  gives  prominence  only  to 
the  practical  side  of  religion  ;  how  very  far  he  is  from  wishing  to  con- 
tend against  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation.  He  portrays,  in  this 
tract,  first  the  character  of  the  gross  Jews  (grossi  Judsei),  who  would 
not  acknowledge  Christ  to  be  the  bread  of  the  soul,  who  said  the  body  of 
Christ  was  broken,  comminuted  with  the  teeth,  seen  with  the  bodily  eyes, 
and  touched  with  the  hands.  We  recognize  here  the  same  class  of 
people  that  appeared  first  against  Berenger,  who,  for  the  purpose  of 
cutting  off  all  possibility  of  a  spiritual  apprehension  of  the  mystery,  se- 
lected the  most  carefully-sought  crass  style  of  expression  respecting  the 
body  of  Christ  in  the  supper,  and  who  were  ready  to  detect,  in  every 
more  spiritual  mode  of  expression,  a  denial  of  transubstantiation.  He 
says  of  these  people  that  in  grossness  of  apprehension  they  were  to  be 
compared  with  those  Jews  who  murmured  against  Christ  in  the  syna- 
gogue of  Capernaum  (John  vi) .  He  joins  those  opponents  of  the  crass 
phraseology  respecting  the  body  of  Christ  produced  by  the  consecra- 
tion, Hugo  de  St.  Victor,  Hildebert  of  Mans,  and  even  Innocent  III, 
in  saying  that  "  Christ  is  manducated  spiritually.  "He  abides  in  his  di- 
vinity and  his  body  wholly  in  heaven,  and  he  abides  in  his  divinity  and 
his  humanity  wholly  within  the  heart,  so  long  as  the  sacrament  is 
with  thee.  But  when  thou  art  not  receiving  the  sacrament,  and  art 
without  mortal  sin,  although  he  does  not  sacramentally  and  in  his  hu- 
manity abide  in  thee,  he  still,  in  his  divinity  and  through  grace,  dwells 
in  thy  heart."    Pie  thinks  it  of  importance  to  note,  distinctly,  that  what 

1  Responsio  ad  scripta  Paletz,  opp.  I,  fol.  256 


HUSS    ON   THE   DOCTRINE   OF   TRANSUBSTANTIATION.  271. 

the  senses  perceive  is  one  thing,  and  what  the  eye  of  faith  discerns, 
quite  another,  a  distinction  which  could  be  made  without  affecting  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 

Meantime  the  cause  of  Huss  assumed  a  much  darker  aspect  in  the 
Roman  court.  The  report  of  Archbishop  Zbynek  relative  to  the 
Bohemian  disturbances  met  with  a  far  more  cordial  reception  than  the 
appeal  of  Huss,  which  was  scarcely  noticed.  The  pope  committed  the 
matter  for  investigation  into  the  hands  of  Cardinal  Otto  of  Colonna, 
the  same  who  was  afterwards  chosen  pope  by  the  council  of  Constance. 
This  cardinal  confirmed  the  sentence  passed  by  Archbishop  Zbynek, 
and  cited  Huss  to  appear  at  Bologna,  where  the  pope  was  then  resid- 
ing. This  mode  of  proceeding  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  impor- 
tant party  of  Huss  in  Bohemia.  Huss  and  his  friends  could  with 
justice  affirm  that,  owing  to  the  great  number  of  his  enemies  in  Ger- 
many it  would  not  be  safe  for  him  to  undertake  such  a  journey ;  that 
it  would  be  sacrificing  his  life  for  nothing.  In  truth,  the  worst  and 
nothing  but  the  worst,  was  to  be  expected,  even  should  Huss  succeed 
in  getting  to  the  Roman  court,  where  there  were  so  many  to  whom 
he  had  made  himself  odious  by  attacking  the  corruptions  that  prevail- 
ed at  that  court.1  Queen  Sophia  used  all  her  interest  in  behalf  of 
her  father  confessor.  Wenceslaus,  who  looked  upon  Archbishop  Zby- 
nek as  the  author  of  all  the  disturbances,  the  man  who  had  brought 
his  kingdom  under  suspicion,  wrote  in  favor  of  Huss  to  the  pope  in 
Bologna  and  to  the  college  of  Cardinals.  He  begged  the  pope  to  put 
a  stop  to  the  whole  process,  to  impose  silence  on  the  enemies  of  Huss, 
to  suppress  the  dispute  concerning  the  books  of  Wicklif ;  since  it  was 
evident,  that  in  his  kingdom  no  man  had  fallen  into  error  or  heresy  by 
occasion  of  those  writings.  "It  is  our  will  too  —  he  wrote  —  that 
Bethlehem  Chapel,  which,  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  saving  good 
of  the  people,  we  have  endowed  with  franchises  for  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel,  should  stand,  and  should  be  confirmed  in  its  privileges ;  so 
that  its  patrons  may  not  be  deprived  of  their  rights  of  patronage,  and 
that  Master  Huss  (whom  he  styles  the  loyal,  devout,  and  beloved) 
may  be  established  over  this  chapel  and  preach  the  word  of  God  in 
peace."  He  demanded  of  the  pope,  moreover,  that  the  personal  cita- 
tion of  Huss  should  be  revoked  ;  and  if  any  one  had  anything  to  object 
to  him,  that  he  should  present  his  objections  there  within  the  realm 
and  before  the  university  of  Prague,  or  some  other  competent  tribu- 
nal.2    King  Wenzel  sent,  in  company  with  this  letter  to  the  pope, 

1  The  abbot  of  Dola,  in  his  dialogue  him  as  his  judge,  whose  sins  he  has  reek- 
written  in  the  year  1414,  represents  the  lessly  attacked,  he  manifestly  gives  him- 
"  Goose,"  that  is,  Huss,  his  name  signifying  self  up  to  death."  To  this  his  antagonist 
this  in  the  Bohemian  language,  as  saying,  replied  :  "  Huss,  placing  his  confidence  in 
'•  I  have  many  reasons  for  not  obeying  the  God,  had  nothing  to  fear,  and,  after  the 
citation  to  Rome.  It  was  my  intention,  example  of  Christ,  ought  to  have  appeared 
at  first,  to  appear  there;  but  my  counsel  even  before  an  unjust  judge.  Steph.  Dol. 
and  the  counsel  of  the  other  party  wrote  dialogus  volatilis,  Fez  IV,  2,  pag.  464  et 
me,  that   I  should  not  come,  because  it  465  auca  et  passer. 

would  be  sacrificing  my  life  to  no  purpose.  *  The  letter,  according  to  a  manuscript 
I  refused,  then,  because  I  did  not  wish  to  in  the  Imperial  library  at  Vienna,  in  Pa- 
neglect  the  people  in  the  word  of  God,  nor  lacky  III,  1,  p.  258,  and  the  letter  to  the 
to  expose  my  life  when  nothing  was  to  be  cardinals,  in  Pelzel,  Urkundenbuch  Nr. 
gained  by  it ;  for  when  a  man  stands  before  221. 


272  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

Doctor  Nass,  and  Master  John  Cardinalis  of  Reinstein,  a  man  often 
employed  in  embassies,  a  friend  of  Huss,  and  one  who  afterwards  took 
an  important  part  in  the  Hussite  movements ;  and  they  were  to  re- 
quest the  pope  to  send  a  legate  to  Bohemia  at  the  king's  expense. 
He  also  wrote  to  Cardinal  Colonna ;  and  requested  him  to  come  to 
Prague  himself,  and  inform  himself  of  the  actual  state  of  things  by 
personal  observation.  He  directed  that  the  pope  should  be  informed 
by  Doctor  Nass,  to  whom  the  pope  was  a  personal  friend,  that  nothing 
but  his  respect  for  the  pope  prevented  him  from  bringing  the  author 
of  all  these  disturbances  in  his  kingdom  to  condign  punishment.  Huss 
at  the  same  time  sent  with  these  persons  three  procurators  to  Rome, 
as  his  representatives  and  advocates  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  process, 
—  his  friend,  Master  Jesenic,  a  jurist,  and  two  doctors  of  theology. 
Cardinal  Colonna  had  already,  in  February,  1411,  pronounced  sen- 
tence of  excommunication  in  contumaciam  against  Huss,  for  not  obey- 
ing the  citation.  Still,  however,  the  pope  was  moved  by  the  interces- 
sion of  the  king  to  take  the  cause  out  of  the  hands  of  Colonna,  and  to 
appoint  a  new  commission ;  among  the  members  of  which  we  may 
mention  Cardinal  Francisco  a  Zabarellis,  archbishop  of  Florence,  as 
one  who  on  account  of  his  disposition  to  favor  reform  stood  better 
affected  towards  Huss  than  many  others.  Meanwhile  Archbishop 
Zbynek  had  made  every  exertion  through  his  delegates  at  Bologna  to 
prevent  the  course  already  taken  against  Huss,  and  his  citation  from 
being  revoked.  He  is  said  to  have  been  most  lavish  in  his  presents, 
sending  horses,  vases,  and  costly  rings,  to  the  pope,  and  other  gifts  of 
the  same  kind  to  the  cardinals.1  But,  through  some  unknown  in- 
fluence, the  cause  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Cardinal  Brancas 
alone,  who,  in  spite  of  all  the  remonstrances  made  by  the  procurators 
of  Huss,  kept  the  whole  affair  in  suspense  for  a  year  and  a  half.  In 
asmuch,  therefore,  as  the  excommunication  of  Huss  had  not  been 
revoked,  the  archbishop  regarded  it  as  valid,  and  had  it  published  in 
all  the  churches  except  two,  whose  rectors  declined  to  read  it.  As 
regards  the  procurators  of  Huss,  since  they  persisted  in  demanding 
that  his  cause  should  undergo  a  new  investigation,  some  of  them  were 
thrown  into  prison,  the  others  returned  back  to  Prague  when  they  saw 
that  nothing  was  to  be  done.  At  length,  Cardinal  Brancas  brought 
up  the  process  against  Huss.  The  former  sentence  was  confirmed 
with  additional  severity.  The  cardinal  issued  a  public  declaration, 
styling  Huss  a  heresiarch,  and  laying  the  city  where  he  resided 
under  interdict.2  Archbishop  Zbynek  carried  this  measure  into  effect, 
and  the  interdict  was  imposed  on  Prague.  But  Huss  and  his  friends 
did  not  consider  themselves  bound  by  these  arbitrary  sentences,  passed 
without  giving  both  parties  a  hearing.  King  Wenzel,  whose  remon- 
strances addressed  to  the  archbishop  had  had  so  little  effect,  warmly 
espoused  the  side  of  Huss.     The  clergy  who  were  inclined  to  observe 

1  Chronic,  univers.  Prag.  Ms.  in  Palacky        8  See  the  report  given  by  Huss  himself, 

III,  1,  S.  264,  and  compare  what  Master  which  may  serve  as  the  authority  for  the 

Jenseric  says  on  the  matter  of  the  bribes  facts  related  in  the  foregoing  pages.    Opp. 

in  his  protest.     Hus  opp.  I,  fol.  332.  I,  fol.  86  sq. 


COMPROMISE  IN  THE  YEAR  1411.  273 

the  interdict,  had  to  endure  violent  persecutions ;  their  goods  were 
confiscated ;  many  of  them  fled  the  country.  Thus  the  contest  be- 
tween the  clergy  and  the  secular  power  in  Bohemia,  seemed  to  have 
reached  its  acme ;  when  the  whole  affair  took  another  turn,  and  a  hope 
began  to  be  cherished  that  the  present  commotions  would  yet  be  hush- 
ed to  rest.  Zbynek  was  forced  to  perceive  that  he  was  too  weak  to 
carry  through  his  purpose  in  opposition  to  the  king  and  the  party  of 
Huss.  Reflecting  that  the  schism  in  the  church  still  continued  to 
subsist,  looking  at  the  feebleness  of  Pope  John,  who  made  himself 
every  day  more  odious  by  his  abominable  life,  and  his  disgraceful 
administration,  Zbynek  could  not  hope  for  assistance  from  the  Roman 
court ;  and,  besides,  Pope  John  was  too  deeply  involved  in  other 
affairs  lying  nearer  his  heart,  to  be  able  to  bestow  any  particular  at- 
tention on  the  disturbances  in  Bohemia.  The  archbishop  was  forced, 
therefore,  to  the  conviction,  that,  if  he  pushed  matters  to  the  extreme, 
he  would  only  run  the  risk  of  losing  all  his  authority  in  Bohemia ;  a 
result  which  would  be  inevitable,  if  sharper  spiritual  measures  were 
continually  resorted  to,  while  yet  every  one  of  them  was  trifled  with. 
Hence  he  was  the  rather  inclined,  for  the  sake  of  saving  his  authority, 
finally  to  give  way  to  the  efforts  of  the  king  and  of  the  university  for 
the  restoration  of  peace,  and  to  offer  his  hand  for  reconciliation. 

In  the  beginning  of  July,  1411,  a  committee  was  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  ten, —  princes,  notables  of  the  secular  and  spiritual  orders, 
—  persons  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  preceding  controversies,  to 
devise  the  best  means  for  establishing  peace  in  Bohemia.  Wenzel, 
Archbishop  Zbynek,  and  both  parties  pledged  themselves  to  submit  to 
the  decision  of  this  committee.1  They  settled  upon  the  following  terms 
of  agreement :  King  Wenceslaus  and  the  archbishop  should  both  write 
to  the  pope,  and  the  latter  report  to  him,  that  no  heresies  existed  in 
Bohemia ;  a  new  inquiry,  however,  should  be  made  into  this  matter, 
and,  if  anything  of  a  heretical  character  might  still  be  found,  it  should 
be  condignly  punished.  Zbynek  should  obtain  the  pope's  consent, 
that  if  any  person  belonging  to  the  Bohemian  realm,  of  the  secular  or 
spiritual  order,  lay  under  the  ban,  this  should  be  removed  by  the 
pope  ;  both  parties  should  recal  their  procurators  from  Rome,  and  be 
satisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  king ;  the  archbishop  should  remove 
the  ban  and  interdict ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  king  should  restore 
the  salaries  which  had  been  withholden  from  the  clergy,  and  release 
such  as  were  under  arrest.  Zbynek  actually  drew  up  such  a  letter  to 
the  pope,  reporting  that  no  heresies  were  propagated  in  Bohemia,  and 
requesting  him  to  remove  the  excommunication  which  had  been  pro- 
nounced on  Huss,  and  to  revoke  the  citation  which  had  been  served 
on  him.2  In  connection  with  this  compact,  Huss  laid  before  the  Uni- 
versity of  Prague,  in  official  form,  near  the  beginning  of  January,  in 
this  year,  1411,  a  confession  of  faith  designed  to  vindicate  himself 

1  See  the  report  of  Pcnzel,  with  the  doc-        2  See  the  letter  in  the  Works  of  Huss,  I, 
uments  in  the  historical  work,  above  cited,     fol.  87,  2. 
and  the  narrative  by  Huss  quoted  on  the 
preceding  page. 


274  HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

against  those  aspersions  which  had  been  cast  upon  his  orthodoxy,  which 
confession  was  to  be  transmitted  to  Rome.  Huss  declares  in  this  paper, 
that,  "  to  show  due  obedience  to  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  and  to  its 
supreme  head,  I  am  ready  to  give  to  every  man  an  account  of  the 
faith  that  is  in  me,  and  confess  with  my  whole  heart  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  true  God  and  true  man,  that  his  whole  law  is  of  such  stable  truth, 
that  not  one  jot  or  tittle  thereof  can  fail ;  next,  that  his  church  is  so 
firmly  established  on  the  firm  rock,  that  the  gates  of  hell  can  never 
prevail  against  it ;  and  I  am  ready,  trusting  on  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
to  endure  the  punishment  of  a  terrible  death,  sooner  than  consciously 
to  say  anything  which  would  be  contrary  to  the  will  of  Christ  and  of 
his  church."  And  so  he  testified  that  he  had  been  falsely  accused 
before  the  apostolical  see  by  his  enemies.  Among  these  false  accusa- 
tions, he  cites  the  following :  that  he  had  taught  the  people  that  the 
substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  still  remained  after  the  consecration  ; 
that,  at  the  elevation  of  the  host,  Christ's  body  was  present,  but  not 
when  it  was  set  down  again ;  that  a  priest  in  mortal  sin  could  not 
consecrate  j1  that  the  lords  should  deprive^the  clergy  of  their  temporal 
goods  ;  that  tythes  ought  not  to  be  paid  ; 2  that  indulgences  were  no- 
thing ;  3  that  he  had  advised  to  the  employment  of  the  secular  sword 
against  the  clergy ;  that  he  had  taught  some  heresy  or  other,  or  drawn 
the  people  aside  from  the  right  faith  ;  that  he  had  driven  the  Germans 
from  the  University  of  Prague,  etc.* 

We  may  observe  it  as  a  thing  of  no  rare  occurrence  in  great  epochs 
of  the  history  of  the  world,  where  one  mode  of  thinking  and  feeling 
has  been  brought  into  direct  conflict  with  its  opposite,  and  by  means 
of  such  conflict  the  way  is  preparing  for  new  and  important  develop- 
ments, that  when  these  antagonisms  have  arrived  at  their  utmost  ten- 
sion, a  way  of  compromise  or  adjustment  from  some  foreign  quarter 
seems  to  be  ready  prepared  for  the  occasion.  A  superficial  view  of 
history  might  lead  one  to  suppose,  that  now,  if  some  other  disturbing 
cause  had  not  interfered  to  prevent  the  adoption  of  this  compromise, 
and  if  but  this  or  that  means  had  been  added  by  a  cunning  policy,  the 
whole  course  of  events  would  have  taken  an  altogether  different  direc- 
tion. But,  on  the  contrary,  we  should  understand,  that  such  a  com- 
promise as  would  seem  desirable  by  those  who  contemplate  the  case 

1  Huss  in  his  work  on  Tythes  has  dis-  Comp.  Depos.  test,  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit 

tinctly  expressed    this   conviction   of  his  1837,  1.  p.  127. 

respecting  the  objective  character  of  sacra-  2  Huss  had  not  asserted  this  uncondi- 

mental  acts  independent  of  the  subjective  tionally ;  but  only  that  if  the  clergy  vio- 

character    of    the    person    administering  lated  their  duty  and  abused  their  power, 

them  :   Cum  non  virtute  propria,  sed  dei  they  might  be  deprived  of  the  tythes. 

haec  faciunt  satis  rite  prosunt  ecclesiae.  3  Huss  had  hitherto  spoken  only  against 

De  decimis,  opp.  I,  fol.  134,  1.     He  was  the  abuse  of  indulgences  by  such  as  made 

actually  accused  of  having  asserted  in  his  a  trade  of  spiritual  things ;  not  against  the 

sermons  about  the  year  1399,  that  only  a  right  of  granting  indulgences  itself,  with 

priest  in  the  state  of  grace  and  not  one  regard  to  which  right  it  was  still  under 

chargeable  with  mortal  sin  can  truly  con-  controversy  how  far  it  extended, 

secrate;  but  Huss  was  able  to  appeal  to  4  This  confession  is  in  the  Works  of 

the  fact,  that,  from  the  first  year  of  his  ac-  Huss,  but  more  correctly  printed  in  Pel- 

tive  labors  as  a  preacher  and  onward,  he  zel,  Urkundenbuch  Nr.  230. 
had  uniformly  taught  the  opposite  to  this. 


COMPROMISE    OF    1411.  275 

only  from  the  outside,  and  are  simply  wishing  for  quiet  and  peace, 
without  any  sympathy  for  the  internal  struggle  of  the  antagonistic 
forces,  is  a  thing  idle  and  nugatory  in  itself,  bearing  within  it  the 
causes  of  its  failure,  the  seeds  of  its  own  frustration ;  for  it  is  utterly 
impossible  to  sever  by  outward  interference  the  threads  of  history,  to 
force  back  again  by  some  diplomatic  mediation  or  other,  deep-grounded 
antagonisms  taken  in  the  midst  of  their  development.  The  impelling 
principles  and  ideas,  which  constitute  history,  are  of  mightier  force 
than  the  purposes  and  designs  of  men.  This  was  seen  in  the  present 
instance.  The  reform  tendency  which  had  begun  with  Milifcz,  and 
had  been  continually  developing  itself,  and  which  must,  finally,  come 
into  inevitable  conflict  with  the  hierarchical  system,  —  the  antagonism 
between  the  two  tendencies  in  the  Bohemian  church,  which  from  this 
time  became  daily  more  distinctly  pronounced,  could  not  be  suppressed 
by  the  momentary  interest  of  the  king  and  the  archbishop,  and  by  a 
compromise  of  their  respective  policies.  Although,  for  the  moment, 
the  letter  of  the  compact  might  actually  be  fulfilled  by  all  the  parties 
concerned,  yet  sooner  or  later  would  the  more  deep-grounded  anta- 
gonism again  come  to  an  outbreak.  Archbishop  Zbynek,  however, 
could  hardly  be  quite  in  earnest  about  this  compromise.  He  coald 
not  become  reconciled  with  the  anti-hierarchical  party  in  Bohemia ; 
nor  could  they,  any  more,  abandon  their  principles.  In  truth,  Zby- 
nek afterwards  expressly  declared  in  his  exculpatory  letter  to  the  king, 
that  he  could  not  report  to  the  pope  that  priests  who  did  not  observe 
the  interdict,  should  not  be  regarded  as  punishable.  He  must  once 
more  complain,  that  what  he  called  heresy  was  preached  by  many 
clergymen,  and  that  he  was  not  permitted  to  apply  his  ecclesiastical 
power  of  punishing  to  those  who  set  forth  erroneous  doctrines.  It  did 
not  require,  therefore,  the  dissatisfaction  with  King  Wenzel  who,  as 
Zbynek  pretended,  had  failed  in  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  the  com- 
promise, to  prevent  the  archbishop  from  complying  with  his  part  of 
the  agreement.  Since  then  he  could  not  but  foresee  that  under  these 
circumstances  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  maintain  his  authority 
in  Bohemia,  or  to  carry  out  his  measures  by  force,  he  resolved,  in- 
stead of  fulfilling  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  to  quit  Bohemia  for  the 
present,  and  to  seek  assistance  from  Wenzel's  brother,  Kim1-  Si'ns- 
mund,  in  Ofen.1  In  the  beginning  of  September  of  the  year  1411, 
he  carried  this  resolution  into  effect.  But  death  surprised  him  before 
he  could  have  an  interview  with  King  Sigismund.2 

1  The  abbot  of  Dola  rightly  apprehend-  tion,  however,  not  a  trace  is  to  be  found 
ed  the  state  of  the  case  from  his  own  point  in  the  writings  of  Huss.  The  abbot  vie^s 
of  view,  as  we  see  from  what  he  says  re-  it  rather  in  the  light  of  a  martyrdom,  in 
specting  the  flight  of  the  archbishop :  Af-  which  the  archbishop  passes  away  in  the 
fectus  taedio  (sciens.  quod  metus  pro  tern-  midst  of  contests  to  receive  the  crown  of 
pore  etiam  in  constantem  virum  cadere  victory.  He  says :  M.  Hus  sect  suam  rebel- 
possit)  paululum  abscondit  se,  dum  dimis-  lioncm  justificana  magna  cum  laetitia  cum 
sa  sui  cpiscopatus  pontifical!  cathedra  exi-  suis  omnibus  voeiferans  affirmabat,  eun- 
vit  de  terra  et  dioecesi  propria  Bohemia.  dem  antistitem,  tanquam  primum  et  capi 

2  It'  wc  may  credit  the  abbot  of  Dola,  talcm  advcrsarium  suum,  in  vindictam  et 
this  was  represented  by  the  Hussite  party  causae  suae  triumphum  sic  esse  tanquam 
as  a  divine  judgment,  of  which  interpreta-  profugum  exstiuctum.     On  the  contrary, 


276  .         HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

The  successor  of  Zbynek  was  not  inclined  to  take  a  very  lively  inter- 
est in  church  controversies  ;  and  if  an  event  had  not  soon  after  hap- 
pened by  which  the  opposite  parties  were  necessarily  thrown  into  a 
more  violent  and  important  contest  with  each  other  than  any  which  had 
yet  occurred,  a  temporary  truce  might  have  ensued.  The  individual 
who  assumed  the  archiepiscopal  dignity  was  a  man  on  good  terms  with 
King  Wenceslaus,  quite  ignorant  of  theological  matters  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs,  and  who  would  have  been  glad  to  let  everything  go  on  qui- 
etly, a  man  who  had  been  elevated  to  this  post  for  reasons  quite  differ- 
ent from  a  spiritual  call.  This  was  Albic  of  Unitzow,  the  king's  phy- 
sician, who,  after  obtaining  some  reputation  as  a  medical  author,  had 
but  recently  passed  through  the  inferior  spiritual  grades,  and  was  al- 
ready at  an  advanced  period  of  life.  To  him,  peace  was  the  most  de- 
sirable of  all  things.  But  where  so  many  combustible  materials  were 
present,  it  required  but  a  small  spark  to  set  everything  in  flames.  An 
occasion  of  this  sort  grew  out  of  circumstances  connected  with  the  en- 
trance of  the  new  archbishop  upon  his  office,  though  without  any  fault 
of  his  own.  The  papal  legate,  who  bore  the  pallium  to  the  newly  ap- 
pointed primate,  was  directed  at  the  same  time  to  publish  the  bull,  put 
forth  in  a  manner  worthy  of  himself  by  Pope  John  XXIII,  pronouncing 
in  the  most  awful  forms  the  curse  of  the  ban  on  the  pope's  enemy 
King  Ladislaus  of  Naples,  adherent  of  Gregory  XII,  as  on  a  heretic, 
a  schismatic,  a  man  guilty  of  high  treason  against  the  majesty  of  God  ; 
and  proclaiming  a  crusade  for  the  destruction  of  his  party  ;  together 
with  a  bull  granting  full  indulgence  to  all  who  took  part  in  this  crusade. 
All  who  personally  bore  arms  in  this  crusade  were  promised,  if  they 
truly  repented  and  confessed  themselves,  (which,  in  this  connection, 
surely  could  mean  nothing  but  a  mere  form,)  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins,  as  fully  as  in  participating  in  any  other  crusade.  Following  the 
example  of  cupidity  set  up  by  Boniface  IX,  this  bull  offered  the  like 
indulgence  to  those  also  who  would  contribute  as  much  in  money  as,  in 
proportion  to  their  means,  they  would  have  expended  by  actively  en- 
gaging in  this  crusade  for  the  space  of  a  month.  The  papal  legate, 
who  from  what  he  had  heard  about  Huss  might  probably  expect  to  meet 
with  opposition  on  his  part,  requested  archbishop  Albic  to  summon  Huss 
before  him,  and,  in  the  archbishop's  presence,  demanded  of  him  whether 
he  would  obey  the  apostolical  mandates  ?  Huss  declared  that  he  was 
ready,  with  all  his  heart,  to  obey  the  apostolical  mandates.  Then  said 
the  legate  to  the  archbishop :  "Do  you  see  ?  the  master  is  quite  ready 
to  obey  the  apostolical  mandates  ?"  But  Huss  rejoined  :  "  My  lord, 
understand  me  well.  I  said  I  am  ready,  with  all  my  heart,  to  fulfil 
the  apostolical  mandates ;  but  I  call  apostolical  mandates  the  doctrines 
of  the  apostles  of  Christ ;  and  so  far  as  the  papal  mandates  agree  with 
these,  so  far  I  will  obey  them  most  willingly.  But  if  I  see  anything  in 
them  at  variance  with  these,  I  shall  not  obey,  even  though  the  stake 
were  staring  me  in  the  face."  i     In  fact  he  was  too  deeply  imbued  with 

says  he :  lit  sui  certaminis  optimae  retri-  '  Jtequisitus  coram  Pragensi  archiepis- 
butionis  reciperet  praemia.  Antihussus,  copo  Albico  per  legatos  Romani  Pontiticis 
Pez  IV,  2,  pag.  418  et  419. 


HUSS    AGAINST   THE    INDULGENCE    OF   JOHN    XXIII.  277 

the  spirit  of  the  gospel  not  to  turn  with  disgust  from  such  papal  bulls 
as  these.  He  had  the  good  of  souls  too  near  at  heart  not  to  feel  con- 
strained, by  a  sort  of  necessity,  to  prevent  the  corruption  and  ruin 
which  must  accrue  to  religion  and  morality,  from  the  execution  of  such 
bulls.  He  had  until  now,  as  we  have  seen,  simply  attacked  the  abuses 
in  the  matter  of  indulgences,  practised  by  the  wicked  clergy.  He  was 
now  led  to  enter,  more  deeply,  into  the  whole  subject  ;  and  by  so  do- 
ing would,  of  necessity,  be  led  also  to  advance  another  stage  in  his  at- 
tacks upon  the  pope.  King  Wenzel,  who  was  incapable  of  calculating 
the  consequences  of  this  affair,  was  induced  from  motives  of  policv  to 
grant  his  consent  to  the  publication  of  the  bull.  The  forms  of  absolu- 
tion, drawn  up  in  accordance  with  this  bull,  were  such  that  Stephen  Pa- 
letz,  thus  far  the  friend  of  Huss,  and  then  dean  of  the  theological  fac- 
ulty, himself  first  directed  the  attention  of  Huss  to  the  objectionable 
features  in  them,  and  declared  to  him  that  such  things  ought  not  to  be 
approved.  Huss  says  of  Paletz  :  "If  he  confesses  the  truth,  he  will 
own  that,  in  relation  to  the  articles  of  absolution  which  he  was  the  first 
to  make  known  to  me,  he  declared  them  to  contain  palpable  errors."  l 
Huss,  therefore,  might  still  be  hoping  to  stand  united  with  his  old  friends 
in  this  contest.  But  the  contrary  was  soon  manifest.  The  opposite  tem- 
per of  the  men  must  needs  come  forth  to  the  light,  when  the  question  to 
be  decided  was,  as  at  present,  whether  the  cause  of  evangelical  truth 
should  appear  paramount  to  all  temporal  and  churchly  interests.  And 
in  the  minds  of  Stephen  Paletz  and  Stanislaus  of  Znaim  the  course  to 
be  taken  in  such  a  crisis  seems  to  have  been  already  decided  by  impres- 
sions left  at  an  earlier  date,  and  the  force  of  which  could  never  be  lost 
on  men  of  their  stamp,  who  had  no  idea  of  becoming  martyrs  for  the 
cause  of  gospel  truth.  Among  the  persons  sent  by  King  Wenceslaus, 
in  the  year  1408,  as  envoys  to  Pope  John  at  Bologna,  to  treat  for  his 
vote  in  favor  of  that  prince  as  a  candidate  for  the  imperial  dignity,  were 
these  two  individuals  ;  and  the  stand  which  they  had  taken  until  this 
time,  amid  the  controversies  in  Bohemia,  may  have  brought  it  about  — 
unless,  perhaps,  it  was  brought  about  by  the  freedom  of  their  remarks 
on  the  way  —  that  they  were  cast  into  prison  and  deprived  of  all  they 
possessed.  It  was  only  by  the  interposition  of  the  college  of  cardinals 
that  they  recovered  their  liberty.  Huss  certainly  had  just  reasons  for 
suspecting  that  they  were  intimidated  by  this  danger,  into  which  they 

Joannis  XXIII,  an  velim  mandatis  apos-  mandata  apostolica  doctrinas  apostolorum 
tolieis  obedire,  respond i,  quod  affecto  cor-  Christi,  et  de  quanto  mandata  Pontificis 
dialitcr  implere  mandata  apostolica.  Lc-  concordavcrint  cum  mandatis  et  doctrinis 
gati  vero  habentcs  pro  convcrtibili  man-  apostolicis,  secundum  regulam  legis  Chris- 
data  apostolica  et  mandata  Roman  i  Pon-  ti,  de  tanto  volo  ipsis  paratissime  obedire. 
tificis,  aestimabant,  quod  vellem  erectio-  Sed  si  quid  adversi  concepero,  non  obe- 
nem  cruris  contra  regem  Apuliae  Ladis-  diam,  etiamsi  ignem  pro  com.bustione  mei 
laum  et  contra  omnem  gentem  sibi  sub-  corporis  meis  oculis  praeponatis.  Re- 
ditarn  et  contra  Gregorium  XII  populo  sponsio  ad  scriptum  octo  doctorum,  opp. 
praedicare.     Unde  dicebant  legati :    Ecce  I,  fol.  293.  2. 

domine  archiepiscope !  ipse  jam  mandatis         '  Si  enim  vult  veritatem  fateri,  recog- 

domini  nostri  vult  parere.     Quibus  dixi:  noscet,  quod  articulos  absolutionum,  quos 

Domini  intelligatis  me.     Ego  dixi,  quod  ipse  mihi  manu  sua  praesentaverat,  dice- 

art'ucto  cordialiter  implere  mandata  apos-  bat  esse  errores  manu  palpabilcs.     Resp. 

tolica  et  ipsis  omnino  obedire    sed  voco  ad  script.  Steph.  Paletz,  opp.  I,  fol.  264,  2. 
VOL.    V.                                                   24 


278  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

had  been  brought  by  the  free  expression  of  their  opinions,  and  that  they 
meant  to  be  more  cautious  for  the  future.  He  says  of  Stanislaus,  he 
had  boldly  defended  those  forty-five  articles  in  the  convocation  of  the 
university,  and  continued  to  do  so  till  he  was  forced  to  write  the  con- 
trary, till  he  was  oppressed  by  the  court  of  Rome,  and  robbed  of  his 
property  by  him  whom  he  now  calls  Head  of  the  holy  Catholic  church. 
And  in  replying  to  a  statement  of  Stanislaus,  that  the  pope  was  the 
safest  refuge  for  all  the  faithful,  Huss  remarked  that  Christ,  with  infi- 
nitely more  ease,  could  have  prepared  a  safer  place  of  refuge  for  Stan- 
islaus and  Paletz,  than  in  the  Roman  court,  by  enabling  them  to  arrive 
at  the  certain  truth  in  a  doubtful  matter  without  subjecting  them  to  rob- 
bery and  imprisonment.2  Intimidated  in  this  way  already,  the  two  men 
were  not  disposed  to  resist  the  execution  of  a  bull  in  Bohemia  which 
met  with  the  king's  approbation,  and  to  fall  wholly  out  with  the  pope. 
They  now  appeared  as  defenders  of  the  pope's  authority  against  Huss, 
and  stood  up  for  obedience  to  superiors,  whose  commands  no  man  should 
presume  to  examine  into.  Paletz,  in  the  name  of  the  theological  faculty, 
offered  a  resolution  of  this  sort  :  "  We  do  not  take  it  upon  us  to  raise 
objections  against  the  lord  apostolical  or  his  letters,  to  pass  any  judg- 
ment whatever  upon  them,  or  to  determine  anything  with  regard  to 
them;  as  we  have  no  authority  for  it." 3  But  Huss,  in  accordance 
with  his  principles,  could  not  believe  in  any  such  blind  obedience  ; 
obedience  to  his  Master  Christ,  the  observance  of  his  doctrine,  and  the 
copying  of  his  example,  stood  first  in  importance  with  him.  This  was 
the  rule  by  which  everything  was  to  be  examined,  by  which  the  limit  of 
all  obedience  was  determined  ;  and  this  principle  it  was,  by  occasion  of 
which  it  was  laid  to  his  charge  that,  by  making  the  commands  of  the  su- 
perior dependant  on  the  criticising  judgment  of  his  subjects,  he  relaxed 
the  bonds  of  all  civil  and  ecclesiastical  order  ;  and  accordingly  it  was 
remarked,  that  by  the  course  he  pursued  he  would  introduce  the  dan- 
gerous error  that  obedience  might  be  refused  to  letters  patent  of  popes, 
emperors,  kings,  and  lords,  if  the  truth  and  reasonableness  of  such  let- 
ters could  not  be  made  clear  to  the  understanding  of  the  subjects. 
And  who  could  calculate  what  disorders  would  spring  up,  all  over  the 
world,  from  this  opinion  ? 4  So  he  was  called  a  revolutionist.  His 
opponents  believed,  it  is  true,  that  men  were  bound  to  unconditional 
obedience  to  those  in  power  only  in  that  which  was  not  absolutely 
wicked,  or  that  which  is  in  itself  indifferent.5  But  to  what  extent  was 
the  phrase,  "  that  which  is  in  itself  indifferent,"  to  be  stretched  ?  As 
for  Huss,  he  could  not  look  upon  that  which  the  bull  required  as  a  thing 
indifferent,  but  only  as  a  thing  directly  opposed  to  the  law  of  Christ, 

1  Resp.  ad  script.  Stanislai  de  Znoyma,  4  Resp.  ad  script,  octo  doct,  opp.  I,  fol. 

opp.  I,  fol.  288,  1.  294,  1. 

*  Ibid.  fol.  284,  1.  6  Ipsi  enim  posuerunt,  quod  Papae  sem- 

3  Nolumus  nee  attendimus  attentare  ali-  per  est  obediendum,  dura  praeeipit  quod 

quid    contra    dominura    apostolicum    aut  est  purum  bonum,  et  quod  non  est  purum 

suas  literas,  aut  eas  quovis  modo  judicare  malum,  sed  medium.    Resp.  ad  script.  St. 

vel  definire,  cum  ad  hoc  nullam  auctorita-  Paletz,  opp.  I,  fol.  263,  2. 

tem  habeamus.  Adv.  indulgentias  papales, 

opp.  I,  fol.  175,  1. 


HUSS    AGAINST   THE   INDULGENCE   OF   JOHN   XXIII.  279 

and  sinful.  To  obey,  in  this  case,  would  be  the  same  as  to  abandon  his 
principle  of  obeying  God  rather  than  man.  He  then  spoke  for  the  last 
time,  with  his  old  friend  Paletz,  whom  he  next  met  as  his  fiercest  ene- 
my, preparing  destruction  for  him  at  Constance.  His  last  words  to 
him,  the  words  with  which  he  must  sunder  the  tie  of  friendship  that 
had  so  long  united  them,  were  an  adaptation  of  Aristotle's  remark  in 
speaking  of  his  relation  to  Socrates  :  "  Paletz  is  my  friend,  truth  is 
my  friend  ;  and  both  being  my  friends,  it  is  my  sacred  duty  to  give 
the  first  honor  to  truth."  '  An  important  crisis  for  the  fate  of  Huss  and 
the  reform  movements  in  Bohemia,  was  the  sundering  of  the  bond 
which  united  the  Bohemian  party  at  Prague  university,  a  party  which 
had  thus  far  been  kept  together  by  identity  of  philosophical  and  theo- 
logical, as  well  as  of  national  interests.  In  proportion  to  the  cordiality 
of  their  earlier  friendship,  was  now  the  virulence  of  the  animosity  be- 
tween these  men,  as  generally  happens  in  transitions  from  friendship 
to  enmity.  Neither  his  friend  nor  his  teacher  could  ever  forgive  Huss 
for  presuming  to  stand  forth  against  their  authority,  as  well  as  the  au- 
thority of  the  whole  theological  faculty,  composed  of  eight  doctors, 
for  presuming  to  be  more  bold  and  more  free  minded  than  themselves. 
Huss  himself  marks  the  critical  moment  which  separated  him  forever 
from  his  former  associates  :  "  The  sale  of  indulgences  and  the  lifting 
of  the  standard  of  the  cross  against  Christians,  first  cut  me  off  from  my 
old  friends."2  Compelled  to  stand  forth  as  an  opponent  to  his  old 
teacher  Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  he  still  never  forgot  his  obligations  to  him 
as  an  instructor  ;  as  he  says  in  the  paper  he  wrote  against  him  :  — 
"  Though  Stanislaus  was  my  teacher,  from  whom,  in  the  discipline  of 
the  school,  I  learnt  a  great  deal  that  is  valuable,  still  I  must  answer 
him  as  the  truth  impels  me  to  do,  that  the  truth  may  be  more  appa- 
rent." 3  Huss  felt  himself  called  upon  to  lay  a  firm  foundation  for  his 
convictions  on  these  subjects.  He  resolved  to  hold  a  disputation  on 
indulgences,  before  a  numerous  convocation  of  the  university,  where 
also  his  friend  Jerome  intended  to  appear,  having  first,  by  many  posted 
bills,  directed  public  attention  to  this  disputation,  which  was  to  be  held 
on  the  7th  of  June.  We  learn  in  what  way  Huss  attacked  the  papal 
bulls  and  the  whole  subject  of  indulgences,  in  this  disputation,  from 
the  paper  in  which  he  drew  out  at  length  his  remarks  on  that  occasion  ;  4 
and  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  the  christian 
position  on  which  Huss  planted  himself,  and  of  his  activity  at  this  par- 
ticular crisis,  we  propose  to  enter  a  little  more  minutely  into  the  con- 
tents of  this  performance.  Huss  begins  by  explaining  what  had  led 
him  into  the  contest:  "  I  was  moved  to  engage  in  this  affair  —  he  says 

1  Amicus  Paletz,  arnica  vcritas,  utrisque  men  veritate  instigante   animum   meum, 

ami -U  existeiitibus,  sanctum  est  praehoQ-  cogor  ad  sua  dicta,  ut  magis  Veritas  appa- 

orare  veritatem.     Ibid.  fol.  264,  2.  reat,  utcunque  dabitur,  respondcre.    Resp, 

8  Nam  indulgcntiarum  venditio  et  crucis  ad  scr.  Stanislai  de  Znoyma,  opp.  I,  fol. 

adversus   Christianoa  erectio  me  ab  isto  265,  1. 

doctore  primum  separavit.     Ibid.  4  Quaestio  de  indulgentiis  sive  de  cru- 

3  Et  qoftmvia  ipse  Stanislaus  magister  ciata  papae  Joannis  XXIII  fulminata  con- 

meus  exstiterit,  a  quo  in  suis  excrcitis  et  tra  Ladislaum  Apuliae  regem.  opp.  I,  fol. 

actibus  scholasticis  multa  bona  didici,  ta-  174  seq. 


280  HISTORY    OF   THE3LOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

—  by  a  threefold  interest ;  the  glory  of  God,  the  advancement  of  holy 
church,  and  my  own  conscience.  Therefore  in  relation  to  all  that  is 
now  to  be  said,  I  call  God  almighty  and  omniscient  to  witness,  that  I 
seek  first  of  all  things  God's  glory  and  the  good  of  the  church.  For 
to  these  objects  every  mature  Christian  is  strictly  bound  by  the  com- 
mandment of  the  Lord  ;  and  for  the  good  reason  that  every  one  should 
love  Christ  and  his  church  infinitely  more  than  his  bodily  parents,  tem- 
poral goods,  his  own  honor,  or  himself.  It  is  moreover  my  opinion,  that 
the  glory  of  Christ,  and  of  his  bride  the  church,  consist  particularly  in 
the  practical  imitation  of  the  life  of  Christ  himself  in  this,  that  a  man 
lay  aside  all  inordinate  affections,  and  all  human  ordinances  that  would 
hinder  or  obstruct  him  in  the  pursuit  of  his  object."  He  protests  that 
he  will  never  affirm  anything  contrary  to  the  holy  Scriptures  that  con- 
tain Christ's  law,  or  against  his  will.  "  And  when  I  am  taught,  by 
any  member  of  the  church,  or  by  any  other  creature  whatsoever,  that  I 
have  erred  in  my  speech,  I  will  openly  and  humbly  retract  it." 
"Therefore  —  says  he  —  in  order  that  I  may  proceed  more  safely,  I 
will  place  myself  on  the  immovable  foundation,  the  corner  stone,  which 
is  the  truth,  the  way,  and  the  life,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and  I  hold 
it  fast,  as  the  faith  of  the  church,  that  he  who  observes  not  the  ordi- 
nance and  the  law  which  Christ  established,  and  which  he  also  taught  and 
observed  by  himself  and  by  his  apostles,  does  not  follow  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  narrow  way  thatleadeth  to  life,  but  goes  in  the  broad  way 
which  leads  the  members  of  the  devil  to  perdition."  Here  Huss  has  laid 
down  the  principle  by  which  he  conceived  himself  bound  to  try  all  human 
ordinances,  and  the  bulls  of  the  popes  as  well.  He  maintains,  on  this  prin- 
ciple, that  it  is  not  permitted  the  faithful  to  approve  these  bulls.  Noth- 
ing but  what  proceeds  from  love,  can  be  approved  by  Christ ;  but  as- 
suredly neither  the  shedding  of  blood  among  Christians,  nor  the  lay- 
ing waste  and  impoverishing  of  countries,  can  have  proceeded  from  love 
to  Christ ;  nor  could  such  an  enterprise  afford  any  opportunity  for  mar- 
tyrdom. He  explains  what  is  meant  by  "  indulgence,"  holding  to  the 
term  and  sense  in  which  it  was  no  doubt  understood  in  the  papal  bulls, 
and  not  going  back  to  the  original  import  of  the  old  word  indalgentia, 
viz.  remission.  Indulgence  denotes  the  pardon  of  sin  ;  which,  in  his 
view,  was  the  work  of  God  alone  ;  but  priestly  absolution  consisted  in 
this,  that  the  priest  in  the  sacrament  declared  the  person  confessing  to 
him  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  contrition  as  fitted  him,  if  he  died  imme- 
diately, to  enter,  without  passing  through  the  fires  of  purgatory,  into 
the  heavenly  mansions.  And  the  power  of  the  priest,  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity, was  not  so  restricted  that  he  might  not  promise,  so  far  as  God 
who  revealed  it  to  him  permitted,  the  pardon  of  sin  ;  but  it  would  be 
too  great  presumption  to  suppose  that  any  vicar  of  Christ  could  right- 
folly  attribute  to  himself  such  power  of  absolution,  if  God  had  never 
given  him  a  special  revelation  on  the  subject ;  for  otherwise  he  would 
be  guilty  of  the  sin  of  blasphemy.  But  how  would  it  help  the  matter, 
supposing  the  subjects  should  clamorously  demand  such  absolution  ;  for 
assuredly  they  must  believe  that  Christ,  the  most  righteous  judge, 
would  judge  them  according  to  the  measure  of  their  merit  or  demerit. 


QUAESTIO   DE   INDULGENTIIS.  281 

But  though  with  Christ,  who  is  present  everywhere,  contrition  suffices, 
still  the  sacrament  of  penance  is  very  necessary,  though  it  can  avail 
nothing  except  on  the  presupposition  of  contrition.  It  was  a  foolish 
thing,  therefore,  for  a  priest  not  informed  by  divine  revelation  that 
penance  or  some  other  sacrament  availed  for  the  salvation  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  whom  it  was  administered,  to  bestow  on  him  unconditional 
absolution.  "  Hence  the  wise  priests  of  Christ  give  only  a  conditional 
absolution,  conditioned  namely  on  the  fact  that  the  person  confessing 
feels  remorse  for  having  sinned,  is  resolved  to  sin  no  more,  trusts  in 
God's  mercy,  and  is  determined  for  the  future  to  obey  God's  command- 
ments." Hence  he  argues  that  every  one  who  receives  such  indul- 
gence will  actually  enjoy  it  just  so  far  as  he  is  fitted  to  do  so  by  his 
relation  to  God.  He  holds  it  to  be  the  duty  of  prelates  to  instruct  the 
people  in  this  truth,  so  that  the  laity  may  not  spend  their  time  and  la- 
bor on  that  which  cannot  profit  them.  He  declares  it  to  be  allowable 
for  a  christian  man  to  contribute  in  aid  of  a  war  carried  on  by  the  secu- 
lar power,  if  it  be  a  christian  power  ;  which  implies  that  it  be  not  waged 
for  a  mere  earthly  advantage,  which  the  Christian  should  count  as  dross, 
but  for  the  defence  of  the  faith,  to  bring  back  to  unity  those  with 
whom  the  war  is  carried  on  ;  or  if  this  end  is  frustrated  on  their  part, 
that  charity  should  ever  hold  the  reins,  and  the  force  of  arms  be  em- 
ployed only  so  long  as  might  be  necessary  to  open  the  way  for  reason- 
able negotiations.  He  next  declares  that  it  was  neither  permissible 
nor  advantageous  for  a  pope  or  for  any  bishop  or  clerk  whatsoever,  to 
fight  for  wordly  dominion  or  worldly  wealth.  This  might  be  under- 
stood from  the  example  of  Christ,  whose  vicar  the  pope  was  ;  for  Christ 
did  not  fight,  nor  did  he  command  his  disciples  to  fight,  but  forbade 
them.  He  here  cites  the  words  of  Christ,  Luke  22:  51.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  St.  Bernard,  he  maintains  that  the  pope  ought  not  to  contend 
for  secular  things.  Without  doubt  he  may  exhort  princes  to  protect 
the  faithful,  by  force,  against  the  invasions  of  infidels  or  barbarians  ; 
but  the  secular  sword  belongs  not  to  priests,  but  to  the  worldly  profes- 
sion of  arms,  the  special  intention  of  which  is  to  defend  the  law  of  Christ 
and  of  his  church.  But  the  safer  way  was  to  contend  spiritually,  not 
with  the  secular  sword,  but  with  prayer  to  almighty  God,  to  persuade 
the  enemy  to  concord  by  negotiations,  even  though  by  such  a  course, 
which  to  men  might  seem  like  madness,  one  should  in  case  of  need  suf- 
fer death.  This  rule  St.  Paul  gives,  in  Rom.  12:  19  ;  "  would  that  the 
pope  might  humbly  adopt  this  rule  of  St.  Paul."  He  looked  upon  the 
pope's  conduct  as  contrary  to  the  example  of  Christ,  who  reprimanded 
his  disciples  for  desiring  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  his  ene- 
mies, Luke  9:  54.  "  0  that  the  pope,  then  —  he  says  —  would,  like 
the  apostles,  who  desired  to  avenge  their  Lord,  have  addressed  himself 
to  the  Lord,  and  with  the  cardinals  said  to  him,  Lord,  if  it  be  thy  will, 
we  would  call  upon  all,  of  both  sexes,1  to  combine  for  the  destruction 
of  Ladislaus  and  Gregory  and  their  companions  in  guilt ;  and  perhaps 

1  Alluding  to  an  expression  in  the  bull  to  the  pope  for  destroying  Ladislaus,  and 
in  which  all  persons  ot  both  sexes  and  of  are  promised,  on  this  condition,  the  par' 
every  rank,  are  called  upon  to  furnish  aid    don  of  their  sins. 


282  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  Lord  would  have  answered,  Ye  know  not  what  spirit  ye  are  of, 
when  ye  seek  to  ruin  so  many  souls  of  men  by  ban,  sentence  of  con- 
demnation, and  destruction  of  life.  Why  do  ye  thus  set  at  nought  my 
example,  I  who  forbade  my  disciples  to  be  so  cruelly  zealous  against 
those  that  crucified  me,  who  prayed,  Father  !  forgive  them,  they  know 
not  what  they  do  ?  If  the  pope,  then,  would  subdue  his  enemies,  let 
him  follow  the  example  of  Christ,  whose  vicar  he  styles  himself,  let 
him  pray  for  his  enemies  and  the  church  ;  let  him  say,  My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world  ;  let  him  show  them  kindness  ;  let  him  bless  those  that 
curse  him  ;  for  then  will  the  Lord,  according  to  his  promise,  give  him 
a  power  of  utterance  and  wisdom,  which  ihey  will  never  be  able  to 
gainsay."  Next,  Huss  noticed  the  objection  of  those  who  said,  in  those 
days,  Such  literal  imitation  of  Christ  is  confined  to  the  "  evangelical 
counsels,"  designed  for  those  that  strive  after  christian  perfection, — 
for  the  monks.  As  we  may  conclude  from  several  expressions  of  Huss 
already  cited,  he  would  doubtless  have  preferred  to  say  that  all  Chris- 
tians were  bound  to  strive  after  the  same  ;  and  instead  of  fighting  with 
the  secular  sword,  should  contend  only  with  the  weapons  of  prayer  and 
the  word  ;  but  he  was  sensible  that,  in  the  present  state  of  things,  this 
was  not  to  be  looked  for.  He  distinguishes,  as  we  have  already  ob- 
served, the  three  different  ranksof  society ;  but  he  demands  of  the  clergy 
that  they  at  least  should  so  deport  themselves,  as  if  they  considered 
that  to  be  a  command  for  them  which,  to  others,  was  only  a  counsel. 
All  priests,  he  says,  should  aim  at  the  highest  perfection,  because  they 
are  representatives  of  the  apostles,  and  particularly  the  pope,  who 
should  exhibit,  in  his  conduct,  the  highest  degree  of  perfection,  after 
the  example  of  Christ  and  of  Peter.  "  All  priests  are  bound  to  the 
same  rule  of  perfection  ;  certainly  the  priesthood  is  the  summit  of  per- 
fection in  the  militant  church.  The  precepts,  therefore,  that  forbid 
contention  for  earthly  things,  concern  all  priests  in  general."  The 
clergy,  according  to  him,  should  literally  observe  the  precepts  of  the 
sermon  on  the  mount  ;  as,  for  example,  Matt.  5:  40,  "  from  which  it  is 
evident  —  he  says  —  that,  although  not  to  go  to  law  about  earthly  matters, 
is  for  Christians  of  a  subordinate  stage  a  counsel,  yet  as  applied  to  priests 
it  changes,  according  to  place  and  time,  into  a  command.  Ignorance  in 
these  matters  is  no  excuse  for  a  priest ;  because  they  are  commanded, 
as  persons  ordained  to  act  as  presidents,  judges,  and  teachers,  to  have 
knowledge  of  the  law,  and  to  explain  it  to  those  under  them  in  all  its 
several  parts.  This  ignorance  of  holy  Scripture,  being  a  guilty  igno- 
rance, renders  the  priests  the  more  condemnable,  as  it  is  the  mother 
of  all  other  errors  and  vices  among  themselves  and  the  people."  He 
then  passes  to  the  laity,  and  endeavors  to  show  that  if  they  followed  the 
invitation  of  the  bull,  and  by  their  contributions  upheld  the  pope  in 
things  at  variance  with  his  calling,  they  could  not  wholly  excuse  them- 
selves by  pleading  ignorance,  since  it  was  ignorance  which  they  might 
doubtless  have  avoided  ;  in  fact  it  seemed  that  there  was  no  such  igno- 
rance, but  on  the  contrary,  they  had  knowledge  enough,  only  it  was 
asleep  ;  for  when  they  saw  priests  attending  spectacles,  putting  them- 
selves on  a  par  with  the  world,  meddling  in  secular  business,  they  di- 


QUAESTIO    DE    INDULGENTIIS.  283 

rectly  murmured  against  them,  in  accordance  with  the  Catholic  tra- 
dition, though  these  were  trifles  when  compared  with  carrying  on 
war  and  legal  suits  for  earthly  ends.  After  showing  that  the  laity  were 
without  excuse  for  their  ignorance,  which  he  ascribes,  moreover,  to  the 
lack  of  a  real  interest  in  religion,  he  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  absolute 
indifference  which  led  many  to  obey  the  bull,  who  said,  "  What  matters 
it  to  us,  whether  the  bull  is  a  good  or  a  bad  one  ?  We  can  eat  and  drink 
without  disturbance,  if  we  are  left  to  our  peace  ;  others  may  do  what 
they  please."  He  then  comes  to  a  third  class,  who  obeyed  from  cow- 
ardice. And  this  reproach  he  casts  particularly  upon  the  theologians  ; 
men  conversant  with  the  Scriptures,  who  obeyed,  he  says,  in  opposition  to 
their  own  consciences,  who  thought  of  the  bull  in  one  way  and  spoke  open- 
ly of  it  in  another.  "  They  tremble  —  he  says  —  who  should  yield  to  no 
fear  of  the  world  ;  tremble  lest  they  should  lose  their  temporal  goods, 
the  honor  of  this  world,  or  their  lives."  He  then  attacks  the  unchris- 
tian expressions  in  the  bull,  where  it  spoke  of  destroying  Ladislaus  to 
the  third  generation,  in  contradiction  to  Ezek.  18:  20  ;  where  it  calls 
Ladislaus  and  his  adherents  blasphemers  and  heretics,  although  this 
was  not  manifest  from  any  trial  to  which  he  had  been  subjected,  and 
although  his  subjects  were  included,  poor  weak  people,  men  and  women, 
acting  under  constraint  Referring  to  the  definition  above  given  of 
indulgence,  he  says  :  "  On  this  point,  he  who  is  blind  may  judge, 
whether  pardon  of  sin  is  not  bestowed  for  a  consideration  in  money." 
Is  not  this  true  simony  ?  He  then  quotes  some  of  the  really  scandalous 
language  used  by  the  papal  commissioners  for  the  sale  of  indulgences, 
—  language  well  calculated  to  revolt  every  christian  feeling,  as  it  had 
at  first  revolted  even  the  feelings  of  Paletz  —  such  expressions  as  the 
following :  "  By  the  apostolical  power  entrusted  to  me,  I  absolve  thee 
from  all  the  sins  which,  to  God  and  to  me  thou  hast  truly  confessed, 
and  for  which  thou  hast  done  penance.  If,  as  thou  art  not  able  per- 
sonally to  take  part  in  this  enterprise,  thou  wilt  act  according  to  my  di- 
rection and  that  of  the  other  commissioners,  in  furnishing  means  and 
helps  for  this  cause,  and  if  thou  hast  done  all  according  to  thy  ability, 
I  bestow  on  thee  the  most  perfect  forgiveness  of  all  thy  sins,  both  from 
the  guilt  and  the  punishment  of  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost."  Having  first,  not  without  reason,  remarked  that  the 
words  "  as  thou  art  not  able,"  might  probably  contain  a  falsehood,  Huss 
dwells  more  particularly  on  the  blasphemous  style  in  which  absolution 
is  declared.  It  was  one  and  the  same  thing,  he  said,  to  bestow  the 
forgiveness  of  all  sins,  and  to  impart  the  Holy  Ghost.  Both  presup- 
posed  divine  power.  And  for  a  sinful  man  to  pretend  to  impart  the 
Holy  Ghost,  was  too  enormous  a  presumption  ;  for  Christ  alone,  on 
whom  the  heavenly  dove  descended  as  a  symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
could  bestow  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit.  God  grants  the  pardon  of  sin 
to  none  but  those  whom  he  has  first  rendered  fit  to  receive  it.  Since 
then  a  Christian  can  render  another  person  fit  no  otherwise  than  by  la- 
boring for  it  by  prayer  or  preaching,  or  by  contributing  to  it  through 
his  own  merits,1-  it  was  evident  that  the  being  rendered  fit  for  it  by  God, 

1  Orando,  praedicando,  merendo. 


284  HISTORY    OP    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

must  precede  forgiveness.  He  then  takes  notice  of  a  subterfuge  :  it 
might  be  said  it  was  but  a  conditioned  indulgence,  given  to  the  truly 
contrite,  and  therefore  to  the  elect.  This  was  sophistical.  In  this  case 
there  would  be  no  need  of  indulgences.  So,  it  might  be  said  of  any  one 
that,  on  the  supposition  he  was  of  the  divine  essence,  he  would  be  very 
God.  Pie  then  takes  notice  of  the  sophistical  pretence,  that  the  pope's 
real  object  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  this,  to  rule  the  church  of 
Christ  in  peace  and  tranquillity  ;  but  to  secure  this  object,  he  must  re- 
sist his  adversaries.  The  pope  could  not  deceive  God.  God  knew  per- 
fectly on  what  the  pope's  heart  was  intent,  his  ruling  aim  implicite  or  ex- 
plieite.  And  if  he  who  should  imitate  the  poverty  of  Christ,  fought  for 
worldly  rule,  he  committed  a  grievous  sin,  of  which  every  man  was  an  abet- 
tor who  upheld  him  in  so  doing.  He  thinks  that  if  the  pope  really  pos- 
sessed a  plenitude  of  power  to  bestow  indulgence  on  all,  christian  char- 
ity required  no  less  of  him  than  that  he  should  show  this  kindness  to  all 
alike.  Huss  portrays  the  injurious  effects  produced  by  these  indul- 
gences. "  The  foolish  man  of  wealth  is  betrayed  into  a  false  hope  ;  the 
law  of  God  is  set  at  nought ;  the  rude  people  give  themselves  up  more 
freely  to  sin  ;  grievous  sins  are  thought  lightly  of;  and,  in  general,  the 
people  are  robbed  of  their  property.  Far  be  it,  therefore,  from  the 
faithful  to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  indulgences."  With  regard 
to  those  expressions  which  referred  to  the  common  fund  of  all  the  good 
works  in  the  church,  to  be  distributed  by  the  pope,  Huss  remarks  :  in- 
dividuals share  in  this  common  fund  only  in  proportion  as  they  are 
qualified  to  share  in  it  by  their  charity ;  but  it  is  not  in  the  power  of 
the  pope  ;  it  belongs  to  God  alone  to  determine  the  greater  or  less 
degree  of  charity  in  individuals  ;  for  to  do  this  presupposes  infinite 
power  ;  it  depends  on  the  good  pleasure  of  God.  Therefore  it  is  not  in 
the  power  of  the  pope  to  give  any  one  a  share  in  intercessions  by  the 
community  of  holy  church  ;  and  consequently  it  was  absurd  for  him  to 
attribute  any  such  power  to  himself,  since  the  pope  himself  should,  with 
David,  humbly  say,  '  Make  me,  0  God,  a  companion  of  all  them  that 
fear  thee,  and  of  them  that  keep  thy  precepts.  In  place  of  such  an  im- 
parting of  spiritual  fellowship  with  all  the  good  in  the  church,  Huss 
would  rather  substitute  this  :  Let  the  Christian  live  a  righteous  life, 
following  Christ  his  head  in  all  virtue,  and  especially  in  humility  and 
patience  ;  and  then  let  him  rely  on  partaking  of  his  merits,  so  far  as 
God  may  grant  it,  and  assuredly  if  he  thus  perseveres  unto  the  end,  he 
will  attain  to  the  most  complete  forgiveness  of  his  sins  ;  and  as  his 
life  grows  conformed  to  the  example  of  Christ,  in  the  same  proportion 
will  he  share  of  his  mercy  and  of  the  glory  of  the  blessed."  He  says 
that,  from  the  proclamations  of  the  commissioners  for  granting  indul- 
gences, it  was  evident  that  their  sole  object  was  to  extort  money  from 
the  people.  Not  an  instance  was  to  be  found  in  Scripture  of  a  holy 
man  saying  to  any  one,  I  have  forgiven  thee  thy  sins  ;  I  absolve  thee. 
Nor  were  any  to  be  found  who  had  absolved  from  punishment  or  guilt 
for  a  certain  number  of  days.  The  theological  faculty,  who  said  that, 
hundreds  of  years  ago,  the  holy  fathers  instituted  indulgences,  had 
taken  good  care  not  to  express  themselves  more  definitely,  and  to  say, 


QUAESTIO   DE   MDULGENTIIS.  285 

a  thousand  years,  two  or  three  hundred,  or  any  other  particular  num- 
ber of  centuries  ago.  Nor  had  they  ventured  to  name  any  of  these 
holy  fathers.  He  will  not  allow  that  the  sentence  of  the  pope  is  an  ulti- 
mate and  definitive  one  ;  Christ  is  the  highest  expounder  of  his  own 
law,  as  well  by  his  words  as  by  his  deeds  ;  and  he  is  ever  with  his 
faithful,  according  to  his  promise  that  he  would  be  with  them  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world.  He  then  points  to  examples  of  uneducated  and 
ignorant  popes,  not  omitting  to  notice  the  fabulous  pope  Joan.  He  dis- 
putes the  position,  that  when  the  great  mass  of  the  clergy,  monks,  and 
laity  have  approved  of  the  papal  bulls,  it  would  be  foolish  to  contradict 
so  large  a  majority.  By  the  same  sort  of  reasoning,  anything  might  be 
justified,  however  wicked  and  vile,  provided  only  that  it  was  approved 
by  the  majority  ;  and  anything  condemned,  however  true  and  good, 
if  sanctioned  only  by  a  minority.  He  quotes,  in  illustration,  Jer.  8: 
10  ;  according  to  the  principle  above  stated,  it  was  folly  in  the  prophet 
to  contradict  so  vast  a  multitude.  "  Therefore  —  says  he  —  it  is  the 
custom  of  wise  men,  whenever  difficulties  occur  with  regard  to  any  truth, 
laying  it  open  for  discussion,  to  consider,  first  of  all,  what  the  faith  of 
holy  Scripture  teaches  on  the  point  in  question  ;  and  whatever  can  be 
so  determined,  that  they  hold  fast  as  a  matter  of  faith.  But  if  holy 
Scripture  decides  neither  on  one  side  nor  the  other,  they  let  the  sub- 
ject alone,  as  one  which  does  not  concern  them,  and  cease  to  dispute 
whether  the  truth  lies  on  this  side  or  that."  In  resisting  the  authority 
of  the  pope,  Huss  was  accused  of  having  resisted  the  ordinance  of  God-, 
according  to  Rom.  xiii.  To  this  he  replies  :  The  charge  is  true,  if 
by  the  authority  of  the  pope  is  meant  his  authority  as  ordained  of  God ; 
but  it  is  false  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  pretended  and  arrogated  au- 
thority of  the  pope.1 

After  Huss  had  thus  attacked  the  papal  bulls  with  arguments  calcu- 
lated to  impress  every  thinking  mind  that  lay  open  to  the  truth,  his 
friend  Jerome  came  forward  and  delivered  a  glowing  discourse,  which 
kindled  the  greatest  enthusiasm  in  the  hearts  of  the  youth.  In  the 
evening  he  was  escorted  home,  in  triumph,  by  large  bodies  of  the  stu- 
dents.2 The  excitement  produced  by  the  transactions  of  this  day, 
spread  further  ;  and,  as  it  usually  happens  when  the  impulse  has  been 
given  to  some  great  movement,  however  pure  and  unobjectionable  at 
the  outset,  that  it  no  longer  stands  in  the  power  of  those  who  began  it, 
to  control  and  keep  it  within  bounds,  but  violent  passions  soon  enter  in, 

1  The  abbot  of  Dola,  who  accuses  Huss  indulgences.     Being  asked  what  he  held 

also  as  a  contemner  of  indulgences,  scru-  concerning  indulgences,  he  declared,  The 

pies   not   to  signalize  these  indulgences,  indulgences   of   the   pope    and   cardinals 

which,  in  the  period  of  which  we  are  writ-  were  legal,  and  such  could  be  bestowed  — 

ing,  were  the  occasion  of  so  much  mis-  wherein  it  was  still  left  doubtful  what  no- 

chief,  as  liomanae  sedis  consuetas  et  sa-  tion  he  framed  to  himself  of  indulgences, 

lutares  indulgentias,  and  he  ascribes  the  and  to  what  extent  he  would  allow  them  — 

force  supposed  to  reside  in  them  to  the  but  a  purchased  indulgence,  an  indulgence 

merit  of  Christ's  passion.     Dialog,  vola-  made  a  matter  of  barter  and  sale  by  scl- 

tilis,  Pez  thesaur.  IV,  2,  pag.  474.  lers  of  indulgences,  quaestuarii  was  no  in- 

!  At  the  second  hearing  of  Jerome  of  dulgence  at   all,  but  an   abuse  of  indul- 

Prague  at  Constance,  the  subject  was  also  gences.     V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  2,  pag.  752  et 

brought  up  of  his  attack  at  this  time  on  753. 


286  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

and  with  their  fierce  burnings  vitiate  the  purity  of  the  beginning,  so  it 
turned  out  on  the  present  occasion.  Jerome  of  Prague  wanted  the  pru- 
dence and  moderation  of  Huss.  A  mock  procession  was  got  up  ;  the 
papal  bulls,  suspended  from  the  necks  of  certain  indecent  women,  were 
carried,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  concourse  of  people,  through  the  princi- 
pal quarters  of  the  city.  The  chariot  conveying  the  women  was  sur- 
rounded by  armed  men  of  the  party,  vociferating,  "  To  the  stake  with 
the  letters  of  a  heretic  and  rogue  !  "  In  this  way  the  bulls  were  finally 
conveyed  to  the  Pranger,  where  a  pile  of  faggots  had  been  erected, 
upon  which  they  were  laid  and  burned.  It  was  intended  as  a  parody 
on  the  burning  of  Wicklif's  books  two  years  before.'  That  every  fool- 
ish proceeding  ought  not  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  Huss,  which  the 
passionate  leader  of  his  adherents  undertook,  that  he  was  far  from  ap- 
proving of  all  that  these  persons  either  did  or  said,  is  evident  from  his 
own  words  in  many  of  his  letters,  plainly  intimating  his  dissatisfaction 
with  many  who  professed  to  be  of  his  party,  but  whose  life  did  not  cor- 
respond with  the  doctrines  they  supported,  and  his  disapprobation  of 
the  violent  language  employed  by  many  of  his  adherents.  Thus  in 
reply  to  Paletz,  who  had  accused  him  of  apostasy  from  the  whole  faith 
of  Christendom,  he  says  :  "  Verily,  if  I  allowed  this  to  be  true  of  my- 
self and  of  my  christian  brethren,  I  should  be  as  false  as  he  is  ;  for  I 
hope,  by  the  grace  of  God,  that  I  am  a  Christian,  departing  in  no  re- 
spect from  the  faith,  and  that  I  should  prefer  to  suffer  a  horrible  death 
rather  than  to  affirm  anything  contrary  to  the  faith,  or  to  transgress 
the  commandments  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  the  same  I  hope 
also  of  many  of  my  adherents,  though  I  observe  with  deep  pain  that 
some  of  them  are  blameworthy  in  their  morals."  2  He  also  says,  in 
this  tract  against  Paletz,  with  regard  to  the  abusive  language  which  he 
used  towards  his  adversaries,  whom  he  styled  heretics,  "  Hitherto  I 
have  used  no  such  language  as  this  against  my  adversaries  ;  and  I 
should  be  sorry  if  any  one  of  my  party  should  brand  his  opponent  as  a 
heretic,  or  style  him  a  Mohammedan,  or  ridicule  or  attack  him  in  any 
other  way  that  implied  a  disregard  to  the  law  of  love."  3  Alluding  to 
the  same  person,  he  says  in  another  place :  "  He  holds  us  all  to  be 
Wicklifites,  and  all  therefore  to  be,  in  his  opinion,  reprobates  ;  but  I 
hope  there  is  much  which  is  good  on  both  sides,  and  believe  that  there 

1  We  join  what  we  find  stated  in  the  Prague,  but  Woksa,  of  Waldstein,  one  of 

articles  of  complaint  against  Jerome  of  Wenzel's  favorites,  was  the  author  of  this 

Prague,  in  Constance  (V.  d.  Hardt  IV,  2,  buffoonery,  though  Jerome  may  not  have 

pag.  672),  with  Palatzy's  representation,  been  averse  to  it.     Hence  it  is  evident, 

who  appeals  to  the  manuscript  report  of  a  that  Jerome  said  nothing  untrue,  when  on 

student,  who  had  himself  borne  a  part  in  his  second  hearing  at  Constance  he  assert- 

the  procession,  (Palatzy  III,   1,  p.    278).  ed,  that  he  did  not  burn  the  bull,  (V.  d. 

At  the  council  of  Constance  (where,  how-  Hardt  IV,  2,  pag.  753). 

ever,    the   year    1411    is   erroneously   put  2  Quamvis  dolenter  percipio  aliquos  in 

down  by  V.  d.  Hardt,  as  it  must  have  been  more  deviare.    Kesp.  ad  scr.  Paletz,  opp. 

the  year  1412)  Jerome  of  Prague  is  desig-  I,  fol.  260,  1. 

nated  as  the  getter  up  of  this  whole  thing.  3  Et  doleo,  cum  aliquis  de  parte  nostra 
But,  Palatzy  proves  from  the  manuscript  aliquem  haereticat  vel  appellat  Mahomet- 
articles  of  complaint  laid  hefore  the  coun-  istam,  vel  aliter  infamat  aut  impugnat  ca- 
cil  of  Constance  against  King  Wenceslaus,  ritatis  regula  praetermissa.  Ibid.  fol.  262, 
(III,  1,  p.  2^7  note)  that  not  Jerome  of  2. 


ROYAL  EDICT  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  POPE'S  BULL.       287 

are  sinners  also  on  both  sides  ;  and  it  never  was,  nor  will  it  ever  be, 
agreeable  to  me,  to  hear  any  should  style  the  party  opposed  to  them 
Mohammedans  or  seducers."  l  Great  self-control  and  prudence  were 
assuredly  required  to  enable  a  man  standing  at  the  head  of  his  party, 
in  a  time  of  such  violent  excitement,  to  judge  so  dispassionately  of  his 
opponents,  including  some  who  were  once  his  friends,  but  who  now  in- 
dulged the  most  violent  animosity  towards  him,  and  to  pass  so  severe  a 
criticism  on  the  conduct  of  his  own  party.  We  cannot  fail  to  recognize 
here  the  spirit  of  Him  who  knew  how  to  distinguish  blasphemers  against 
the  Son  of  man  from  blasphemers  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  this  is 
one  trait  which  distinguishes  Huss  from  Wicklif. 

The  co-political  ecclesiastical  motives  which  governed  King  Wen- 
ceslaus  did  not  leave  him  at  liberty  to  contemplate  these  move- 
ments any  longer  without  disquietude,  though  it  was  already  too  late 
to  think  of  putting  a  stop  to  them  by  a  single  enactment.  As  the 
king  had  approved  the  papal  bull,  had  ordered  it  to  be  proclaimed, 
and  permitted  the  preaching  of  indulgences ;  as  he  wished  to  maintain 
a  good  understanding  with  Pope  John,  he  must  look  about  for  the 
means  of  asserting  and  carrying  out  what  he  had  begun.  He  sum- 
moned around  him  the  lords  of  counsel  and  the  elders  of  the  communi- 
ties of  all  the  three  towns,  out  of  which  the  great  capital  had  arisen, 
and  directed  them  to  forbid  for  the  future  all  public  insult  of  the  pope, 
as  well  as  all  public  resistance  of  the  papal  bulls,  on  pain  of  death,  and 
to  be  vigilantly  careful  that  all  occasions  of  excitement  on  both  sides 
should  be  avoided.  This  royal  edict  was  proclaimed  by  a  herald 
through  the  whole  city  as  a  warning  to  all.3  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  the  king  after  all  was  not  so  very  solicitous  that  these  measures 
should  be  rigorously  executed  in  their  whole  extent ;  nor  is  it  clear 
that  he  had  power  enough  to  enforce  them.  The  getter  up  of  the 
mock  procession  against  the  bull  of  which  we  have  just  spoken  still 
retained  his  relations  with  the  king.3  Huss  could  not  be  prevented 
by  any  power  on  earth  from  fulfilling  his  vocation  as  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel,  and  from  saying  to  his  congregation  whatever  his  duty  as  a 
preacher  and  curer  of  souls  made  it  incumbent  on  him  to  say.  He 
could  not  keep  silent  concerning  the  errors  connected  with  the  subject 
of  indulgences ;  he  must  point  out  the  great  peril  to  which  a  reliance 
on  indulgences,  as  he  had  already  demonstrated  in  his  public  disputa- 
tion, exposed  the  souls  of  the  people.  And  yet  Queen  Sophia  did  not 
cease  her  attendance  at  the  chapel  of  Huss ;  and  this  new  contest 
could  only  serve  to  increase  the  number  of  his  hearers  and  their  en- 
thusiasm. The  large  concourse  of  noblemen,  knights,  men  and  women 
of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  who  assembled  around  Huss,  is  described 

1  Ego  autem  ex  utraque  parte  spero  esse  ceslaus  regio  suae  potestatis  impcrio  con- 
multos  bonos,  et  ex  utraque  etiam  parte  stituisset  etiarn  voce  praeconis  per  eivita- 
aestimo  esse  peecatores,  nee  unquam  mihi  tem  Pragensem  decreto  publico,  ut  nequa- 
placuit,  imo  nee  placebit,  quod  quidain  quam  aliquis  audcat  rebellare  et  eontradi- 
vocant  doctoria  partem  Mahometistas  vel  cere  oeculte  vel  publico  sub  capital]  poena 
seduetoivs.     Ibid.  fol.  264,  1.  indulgentiifl   papalibus  caet.     Pez,  IV,  2, 

2  Palatzy,  III,  1,  p.  278,  and  Steph.  Do-     pas.  380. 

lanus  in  his  Antihussus  :  bum  enira  Wen-         J  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  278. 


H65  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

by  his  opponents ;  especially  the  thousands  of  pious  women  who  were 
denominated  Beguines  —  a  nick-name  like  the  term  Pietists  in  later 
times ;  and  one  which  had  been  applied  already  to  the  followers  of 
Militz.1  Now,  when  the  hearts  of  the  laity,  of  men  who  belonged  to 
the  class  of  industrious  artisans,  among  whom  Huss  had  many  ad- 
herents, were  seized  by  the  power  of  truth  in  his  sermons,  and  then 
going  into  the  churches  heard  the  sellers  of  indulgences  preaching  up 
with  shameless  effrontery  the  value  of  their  spiritual  merchandize,  in 
direct  outrage  to  the  gospel  truth  they  had  listened  to  in  Bethlehem 
chapel,  nothing  else  was  to  be  expected,  especially  in  a  state  of  so 
much  excitement  among  the  youth,  than  that  violent  scenes  should 
ensue. 

A  number  of  priests,  distributed  among  the  several  parish  churches, 
were  engaged,  on  the  10th  of  July,  in  publishing  the  papal  bulls  and 
inviting  the  people  to  purchase  indulgences.  On  this  occasion  three 
young  men  belonging  to  the  class  of  common  artisans,  by  the  name  of 
John,  Martin,  and  Stasek,  stepping  forward,  cried  out  to  one  of  these 
preachers,  "Thou  liest!  Master  Huss  has  taught  us  better  than 
that.  We  know  it  is  all  false."  After  a  while  they  were  seized, 
conducted  to  the  council-house,  and,  on  the  next  day,  in  pursuance  of 
the  royal  edicts  condemned  to  death.  Huss,  on  being  informed  of 
this,  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  interpose  and  endeavor  to  save  these 
young  men,  doomed  to  fall  victims  to  the  gospel  truth  which  they  had 
heard  from  his  lips,  and  which  burned  in  their  hearts.  Accompanied 
by  2000  students  he  repaired  to  the  counsel  house.  He  demanded  a 
hearing  for  himself  and  some  of  his  attendants.  At  length  he  was 
permitted  to  appear  before  the  senate.  He  declared  that  he  looked 
upon  the  fault  of  those  young  men  as  his  own,  and  that  he,  therefore, 
much  more  than  they,  deserved  to  die.  They  promised  him  that  no 
blood  should  be  shed,  and  bade  him  tranquillize  the  excited  feelings  of 
the  others.  Hoping  that  they  would  keep  their  word,  he  left  the  coun- 
sel house   together  with  his  followers.3     But  some  hours  afterwards, 

1  See  above,  p.  182.  The  words  of  the  God  in  his  own  church.  Ibid,  p.  146. 
abbot  of  Dola  in  Antihussus :  Nobilibus,  2  It  is  noticeable  that  when  Dr.  Nas  of 
militaribus,  plebeiis,  mulieribus,  tuorura  Prague  had  testified  against  Huss  at  his 
tibi  conceptuum  curaulum  multiplicas.  trial  in  Constance,  that  he  himself  was 
Pez,  IV,  2,  pag.  390.  The  Beguines  are  present  cum  rex  mandasset,  blasphemos 
mentioned,  as  followers  of  Huss,  in  Anti-  ultimo  supplicio  affici.  Huss  directly  de- 
hus.sus,  Pez,  IV,  2,  p.  381,  and  in  Dial,  vo-  clared  this  to  be  false.  Yet,  after  what 
lat.,  ibid.  pag.  492.  In  the  trial  at  Prague,  has  been  said,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that 
we  learn  that  over  3000  persons  met  the  king  did  issue  such  an  edict  against 
arouiRl  Huss  in  the  Bethlehem  chapel,  the  disputers  of  indulgences.  There  was 
Vid.  Dcpos.  test,  in  the  Stud.  u.  Krit.  something  then,  we  know  not  what,  per- 
1837,  1,  p.  147.  It  was  thrown  out  as  a  haps,  in  the  form  of  that  testimony,  which 
reproach  against  Huss,  that  he  had  no  con-  led  Huss  to  express  himseif  in  this  way. 
gregation  of  his  own,  but  drew  hearers  to  Third  hearing  of  Huss  in  Constance,  V. 
him  from  other  parishes,  and  away  from  d.  Hardt  IV,  2,  p.  327. 
other  parish  priests.  But  to  this  he  re-  3  The  abbot  of  Dola  relates  the  tran- 
plied :  No  man  was  bound  to  listen  to  saction  as  follows :  Facto  siquidem  prae- 
God's  word  nowhere  else  except  in  his  dictorum  rebellium  justo  animadversionis 
own  parish-church  ;  for  else  no  monk  excidio,  accessisti  vel  misisti  pluribus  val- 
could  ever  preach,  and  no  parish  priest  or  latus  sociis  ad  maturum  et  discretum  mag- 
parish  vicar  could  allow  persons  belong-  nae  civilis  prudentiae  Pragensium  consu- 
ing  to  other  parishes  to  hear  the  word  of  lum  concilium,  et  praedicatione  pompatica 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  THREE  YOUNG  MEN.  289 

when  the  multitude  had,  for  the  most  part,  dispersed,  they  ventured 
to  proceed  to  the  execution  of  the  sentence.  Resistance  being  appre- 
hended from  the  Hussite  party,  the  prisoners  were  conducted  under  a 
large  escort  of  soldiers  to  the  place  of  death,  and,  as  in  the  meantime, 
the  concourse  of  spectators  running  together  in  the  highest  state  of 
excitement,  increased  every  moment,  they  hurried  the  execution,  and 
finished  it  even  before  arriving  at  the  destined  spot.  But  the  adhe- 
rents of  Huss  had  no  intention  of  resorting  to  violence.  When  the 
headsman,  after  his  work  was  done,  cried  out,  "  Let  him  who  does  the 
like  expect  to  suffer  the  same  fate,"  many  among  the  multitude  ex- 
claimed at  once  :  "  We  are  all  ready  to  do  the  like  and  to  suffer 
the  same."  This  execution  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  increase 
the  excitement  of  feeling  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  for  the 
cause  of  Huss.  Those  three  young  men  would  of  course  be  regarded 
by  the  party  they  belonged  to,  as  martyrs  for  the  truth.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  devise  anything  better  calculated  to  promote  any  cause, 
bad  or  good,  than  to  give  it  martyrs.  Several,  and  in  particular  the 
so  called  Beguines  of  this  party,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  above, 
dipped  their  handkerchiefs  in  the  blood  of  the  victims,  and  treasured 
them  up  as  precious  relics.1  A  woman  who  witnessed  the  execution 
offered  white  linen  to  enshroud  the  dead  bodies  ;  and  another  indivi- 
dual who  was  present,  Master  von  Jitzin,  attached  to  the  party  of 
Huss,  hastened  with  a  company  of  students  to  convey  the  bodies  to 
Bethlehem  chapel.  Borne  thither  as  saints,  with  chanted  hymns 
and  loud  songs,  they  were  buried  amid  great  solemnities,  under  the 
direction  of  Huss.  This  event  gave  new  importance  to  Bethlehem 
chapel  in  the  eyes  of  the  party  of  Huss.  They  named  it  the  chapel 
of  the  Three  Saints.2  It  is  certain  that  Huss  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  death  of  these  young  men.  He  thought  they  might  justly  be 
called  martyrs  for  christian  truth,  like  others  whose  memory  is  pre- 
served in  the  history  of  the  church.  Nor  was  there  any  thing  in  this 
which  could  justly  subject  him  to  the  slightest  reproach.  Certainly 
by  his  sermons  he  contributed  to  nourish  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  memory  of  these  witnesses  for  the  truth  was  cherished  among  the 
people.  But  as  public  rumor,  in  such  times  of  commotion,  is  not 
wont  to  discriminate  between  the  different  agents,  and  the  different 
shares  taken  by  each  in  a  transaction,  but  is  inclined  to  lay  the  whole 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  one  who  happens  to  be  the  most  important 
individual,  so  Huss  soon  came  to  be  pointed  out  as  the  person  who 
headed  the  procession  at  the  burial  of  the  three  young  men.  This  is 
reported  by  the  abbot  of  Dola.3     Accordingly  the  blame  of  the  whole 

ausus  es  clamosa  voce,  non  solum  ipsorum  Pez,  IV,  2  pag.  380  et  381. 
debitam  cxecutionem,  sed  et  regiam  et  in         '  Words  of  the  abbot  of  Dola:   Ut  illo- 

lioc  omnino   sanctam  maturi  deereti  jus-  rum  sauguinem   linteis,  maxime  beginae 

sionem,  non  solum  reprehendere,  sed  et  tuae   et  quidam   alii,   extergerent.    Ibid. 

damiiare.     In  quo   utique  crimen    laesae  pag.  381. 

majestatis  perpetrasti,  asserente  te  et  di-         2  Ita  ut  te  largiente  et  te  donante  locus 

rente:   Injuste  illi  damnati  sunt;  ego  feci  ille  tuae  cathedrae  summus  non  jam  Beth- 

et  ego  feram.     Ecce  ego  et  omnes  qui  me-  lehem,  sed  ad  tres  sanctos  per  te  et  tuos 

cum  sunt,  parati  sumus  eandem  excipere  complices  vocaretur.     Ibid. 
Bentcntiam.     Steph.  Dol.  in  Antihussus,        J  Accessisti  siquidem  et  jacentia  rebel- 
VOL.  V.                                                  25 


290  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

affair  is  thrown  upon  Huss  at  the  council  of  Constance  ;  but  he  could 
deny,  with  truth,  that  the  procession  had  been  got  up  at  his  instiga- 
tion.1 It  is  indeed  possible,  though  the  statement  of  so  violent  an 
opponent  as  the  abbot.of  Dola  cannot  be  received  as  altogether  trust- 
worthy, that  it  was  remarked  by  Huss  or  some  one  of  His  followers : 
If  that  Wenceslaus,  whom  his  brother,  Boleslav,  the  cruel,  caused 
to  be  executed,  deserved  to  be  called  a  martyr,  much  more  were 
those  three  young  witnesses  to  evangelical  truth  entitled  to  be  honored 
as  martyrs ;  or  that  Huss,  following  the  precedent  of  Matthias  of 
Janow,  spoke  disapprovingly  of  the  superstition  and  quackery  with 
which  the  traffic  in  relics,  whether  genuine  or  counterfeit,  was  car- 
ried on  ;  or  that,  one  of  his  adherents  had  said,  the  bones  of  these 
three,  who  ought  certainly  to  be  reverenced  as  witnesses  for  the  truth, 
must  be  more  precious  to  the  memory  of  the  pious  than  those  relics 
that  were  held  to  be  present  at  one  and  the  same  time  in  several 
places.2  But  we  may  hear  what  Huss  himself  says  concerning  these 
witnesses  of  the  truth,  as  his  words  are  recorded  in  his  book  De  eccle- 
sia,  written  at  a  somewhat  later  period.  After  citing  the  passage  in 
Dan.  11 :  33,  he  remarks  :•  "  Experience  gives  us  the  right  interpre- 
tation of  these  words,  —  since  persons  made  learned  by  the  grace  of 
God,  simple  laymen  and  priests,  many  taught  by  the  example  of  a 
good  life,  because  they  openly  resisted  the  lying  word  of  Antichrist, 
have  fallen  under  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  of  which  we  have  an  example 
in  those  three  laymen,  John,  Martin,  and  Stasek,  who,  because  they 
contradicted  the  lying  disciples  of  Antichrist,  fell  victims  to  the  sword." 
Then,  in  allusion  to  what  afterwards  transpired  in  consequence  of  these 
commotions,  he  adds :  "  But  others  who  gave  up  their  lives  for  the 
truth,  died  the  death  of  martyrs,  or  were  imprisoned,  and  still  have  not 
denied  the  truth  of  Christ,  priests,  and  laymen,  and  even  women."  3 

This  first  blood  having  been  shed,  the  persecuting  party  thought  it 
inexpedient  to  venture  immediately  upon  any  thing  further.  They 
perceived  the  danger  of  attempting  to  put  a  stop  to  these  commotions 
by  force.     They  had  learned  by  experience   to  what  a  height  the 

Hum  corpora  sub  mediastino  sustulisti :  et  et  publica  concione  in  sanctorum  nurae- 
cum  ea,  quae  tibi  videbatur,  summa  reve-  rum  relatos  esse.     But  Huss  declares  this 
rentia  ad  cathedram  tuae  superbiae,  capel-  to  be  false,  as  he  was  not  present  when 
lam  dictam   Bethlehem  detulisti ;  te  ipso  the  affair  occurred  :  Falsum  est,  cadavera 
et  scholaribus  tuae  societatis,  sanctae,  obe-  a  me  ad  sepulturam  cum  aliqua   pompa 
dientiae  contrariis,  clamosis  et   altissimis  delata  esse,  cum  ego  ne  adfuerim  quidem. 
vocibus  usque  ad   inferni  novissima  con-  V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  2,  pag.  327. 
crepantibus :    Isti  sunt  sancti,  et  hujusmo-         2  They  are  the  words  of  the  abbot  of 
di  plurima.     Ibid.     This  serves  to  confirm  Dola:     Venerationem   sanctorum   ossium 
the  account  given  above  of  the  solemnities  juxta  ritum  ecclesiae  sanctae  cum  tuis  re 
observed  in  conveying  the  bodies  of  those  probas  dicens,  quod  S.  Wenceslaus  modi- 
three  young   men  to    Bethlehem   chapel,  co  martyrio,  id  est  fratricidio  regnum  pro- 
except  that  the  abbot  makes  no  distinc-  meruit  martyrii :    et  hie  cum  aliis  Sanctis, 
tion  of  persons,  and  charges  Huss  alone  quos   sacerdotes   et  monachi    praedicant, 
with  the  whole  affair.  habent  unius  multa  capita,  multa  bracchia 
1  At  the  council  of  Constance  this  also  et   diversa  ossa,  quae   utique  non   sanc- 
was  introduced  among  the  articles  of  com-  torum,  sed  vilium  cadaverum  esse  potius 
plaint  against  Huss,  regarding  the  burial  reputantur.     Ibid, 
of  the  three  young  men :   Eos  per  eundem         J  De  ecclesia,  opp.  I,  fol.  245,  2. 
Hus   cum   pompa    scholasticorum    elatos 


THE   EIGHT   DOCTORS.  291 

enthusiasm  of  the  people  had  already  mounted  by  the  death  of  those 
three  young  men.  Accordingly  the  other  prisoners,  who  were  now 
looking  for  nothing  but  martyrdom,  were  set  at  large.  The  conflict 
between  the  two  parties,  which  had  divided  the  university,  since  the 
dispute  about  the  papal  bulls  relating  to  indulgence  and  a  crusade, 
still  went  on,  and  grew  more  violent ;  the  smaller  party,  consisting  of 
those  who  now  declared  themselves  opposed  to  all  Wicklifite  doctrines 
and  in  favor  of  the  whole  system  of  papal  absolutism,  and  the  larger 
party  of  those,  who  espoused  the  cause  of  reform,  at  the  head  of  whom 
stood  Huss.  The  former  had  on  their  side  all' who  were  attached  to 
the  hierarchy ;  and  they  supposed  they  could  reckon  also  on  the  help 
of  King  Wenceslaus,  whom,  in  fact,  they  had  joined  on  defending  the 
bull,  and  who  had  issued  the  edict  against  its  opponents.  Those  eight 
doctors,  at  whose  head  stood  at  that  time  Paletz,  as  Dean,  believed 
they  were  entitled  to  represent  themselves  as  constituting  the  theolo- 
gical faculty.  They  now  united  in  condemning  the  45  articles  of 
Wicklif,  although  some  of  them  had  before  this  defended  those  arti- 
cles ;  and,  hence,  Huss  calls  them  the  canoisantes.  They  declared 
to  the  prelates  their  agreement  with  them  in  the  earlier  resolutions 
against  those  articles  ;  and,  by  a  course  which  to  Huss  appeared 
retrograde,  though  to  the  advocates  of  hierarchy  it  could  appear  no 
otherwise  than  an  advance,  gave  them  the  highest  satisfaction.  They 
next  proceeded  to  condemn  the  45  articles  in  a  solemn  session.1  To 
these  propositions  they  added  six  others.  1.  "  That  he  is  a  heretic  who 
judges  otherwise  than  the  Roman  church  concerning  the  sacraments 
and  the  spiritual  power  of  the  keys,"  which  doubtless  refers  to  the 
proceedings  of  Huss  against  indulgences.  2.  "  That  in  these  days, 
to  suppose  that  great  Antichrist  is  present  and  rules,  who,  according 
to  the  faith  of  the  church,  and  according  to  Holy  Scripture,  and  the 
holy  teachers,  shall  appear  at  the  end  of  the  world,  is  shown  by  expe- 
rience to  be  a  manifest  error."  This  refers  to  the  doctrine  concern- 
ing Antichrist,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  proceeded  first  from  Militz, 
had  been  further  unfolded  by  Matthias  of  Janow,  and  so  passed  over 
to  Huss.  3.  "To  say  that  the  ordinances  of  the  holy  fathers,  and 
the  praiseworthy  customs  in  the  church,  are  not  to  be  observed,  be- 
cause they  are  not  contained  in  Holy  Scripture,  is  an  error."  This  is 
evidently  directed  against  a  doctrine  of  Huss,  which  we  have  explain- 
ed on  a  former  page.  4.  "  That  the  relics,  the  bones  of  the  saints, 
tho  clothes  and  robes  of  the  faithful  are  not  to  be  reverenced,  is  an 
error.  5.  "  That  priests  cannot  absolve  from  sins  and  forgive  sins, 
when,  as  ministers  of  the  church,  they  bestow  and  apply  the  sacra- 
ment of  penance,  but  that  they  only  announce  that  the  penitent  is 
absolved,  is  an  error."  This  also  plainly  enough  refers  to  the  doctrine 
set  forth  by  Huss  in  the  controversy  about  indulgences.     6.  "  That 

1  Huss  says  of  Paletz:  Reccpit  articu-  in  praetorio  condemnarent.  Resp.  ad  scr. 
loa.  qui  sunt  praelatis  contrarii  ct  cucurrit  Paletz,  opp.  I,  fol.  259,  2.  This  is  the  con- 
ad  eos,  qui  gavisi  sunt  videntes  ipsum  et  demnation  in  praetorio  to  which  Huss  in 
Stamslaum  cancrisantes.  Unde  initocon-  his  writings  subsequent  to  this  time  in  de 
silio  pactum  feeerunt  invicem,  ut  articulos  fense  of  these  articles  often  alludes. 


292  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  pope  may  not,  where  it  becomes  necessary,  call  upon  the  faithful 
or  demand  contributions  of  them  for  the  defence  of  the  Apostolical 
See,  of  the  Roman  church  and  city,  and  for  the  coercion  and  sub- 
jection of  opponents  and  enemies  among  Christians,  while  he  bestows 
on  the  faithful  who  loyally  come  to  the  rescue,  show  true  penitence, 
have  confessed  and  are  mortified,  the  full  forgiveness  of  all  sins,  is  an 
error."  '  Huss  represents  it  as  a  piece  of  arrogance  in  those  eight 
doctors  to  think  themselves  entitled  to  act  in  the  name  of  the  entire 
faculty,  and  to  put  forth  their  condemnation  as  a  condemnation  by  the 
whole  faculty.2  Now,  as  this  party  could  not  reckon,  as  appears  evident 
from  what  has  been  said,  on  the  concurrence  of  the  whole  university, 
and  therefore  could  not  take  any  open  step  in  common,  they,  as  the 
theological  faculty,  applied  to  the  magistracy  of  Prague,  and  petition- 
ed them  to  obtain  the  king's  consent,  that  the  teaching  and  spreading 
abroad  of  those  articles  should  be  forbidden  by  a  royal  edict.  This 
theological  faculty  had,  moreover,  declared  that  certain  preachers,  on 
whose  account  violent  insurrections,  strifes,  and  divisions  had  sprung 
up  among  the  people,  ought  to  be  silenced.  And  they  stated,  as  their 
last  reason,  that  this  was  the  way  to  restore  peace  among  the  people.3 
A  cunningly  devised  means,  to  be  sure,  for  putting  an  end  to  all  strife, 
to  allow  only  one  party  to  speak,  and  enjoin  absolute  silence  on  the 
other.  Such  an  edict  was  now  to  be  procured  from  the  king.*  The 
king  granted  but  a  part  of  the  demand.  He  actually  issued  an  edict, 
forbidding  the  preaching  of  those  doctrines  on  penalty  of  banishment 
from  the  land ;  at  the  same  time,  however,  he  caused  the  faculty  to 
be  told,  that  they  had  better  employ  themselves  in  refuting  those 
doctrines,  than  in  trying  to  effect  the  suppression  of  them  by  an  edict 
of  prohibition.  But  an  edict  of  prohibition  against  the  preaching  of 
this  or  that  individual,  was  a  thing  he  would  never  consent  to.  As 
the  faculty  could  not  fail  to  see  the  reproach  implied  in  this  language 
of  the  king,  they  sought  to  justify  what  they  had  done,  affirming,  that 
for  them  to  refute  those  doctrines  was  impossible,  as  long  as  Huss 
refused  to  lay  before  them  in  a  written  form,  as  they  had  requested 
him  to  do,  what  he  had  to  object  against  the  two  bulls.5     When  Huss 

1  We  cite  the  imprinted  articles  from  of  the  faculty :  "Behold  a  design  of  these 
the  Latin  original  published  by  Palacky.  doctors  similar  to  that  of  those  priests  and 
Palacky  III,  1,  p.  282.  Pharisees;  and  both  cases  resulted  in  the 

2  He  protests  against  their  arrogance  in  same  way.  For  neither  did  the  former 
calling  themselves  the  alma  et  venerabilis  nor  the  latter  secure  the  peace  which  they 
facultas  theologica,  and  prefers  to  desig-  sought,  but  were  in  more  trouble  than 
nate  them  as  the  octo  doctores,  remarking  before.  And,  rightly ;  for  the  Truth  did 
in  his  tract  against  Stanislaus  :  Est  autem  not  come  to  bring  peace  upon  the  earth 
ilia  facultas  theologica.  quae  aciem  contra  but  a  sword :  and  never  ought  we  to  be 
nos  dirigit,  magistrorum  theologiae  octo-  frightened  away  from  the  truth  by  fear  of 
nanus.  Resp.  ad  scr.  Stanisl.  a  Znoyma,  reproach  from  the  world  or  from  the  doc- 
opp.  I,  fol.  265,  1.  tors."     Ibid. 

3  Quod  certi  praedieatores,  propter  quos,  5  Quod  non  stat  per-magistros  theolo- 
ut  timetur,  insultus  et  discordiae  et  dissen-  giae,  quod  nihil  scribitur  et  non  est  serip- 
siones  sunt  exortae  in  populo,  cessent  a  turn  contra  dicta  M.  Joannis  Hus  de  bullis 
praedicatione.  Et  adducunt  in  fine  pro  papae,  quia  saepius  requisitus,  dictorum 
causa:  Et  speratur,  quod  per  hoc  fiet  pax  suorum  non  dedit  copiam,  nee  hucusque 
in  populo  et  insultus  conquiescent.  Resp.  dare  voluit  magistris  supradictis. —  So  the 
ad  scr.  Stanislai,  opp.  I,  fol.  266,  2.  words  run  in  a  manuscript  copy  cited  by 

4  Huss  remarks  concerning  this  design  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  281. 


MICHAEL   DE   CAUSIS.  293 

was  now  summoned  to  appear  with  his  opponents  before  the  king's 
privy  council,  in  Zebrak,  he  first  appealed  to  the  words  of  Christ 
before  the  High  Priest,  (John  18 :  20,)  and  applying  them  to  his 
case,  remarked  :  "I  have  spoken  openly,  and  taught  in  the  schools, 
and  in  the  temple  in  Bethlehem,  where  masters,  bachelors,  students, 
and  multitudes  of  the  common  people  congregate,  and  nothing  have 
I  spoken  in  secret,  by  which  I  could  be  seeking  to  draw  men  awav 
from  the  truth."  At  the  same  time  he  declared  that  he  was  ready 
to  comply  with  the  demand  of  those  doctors,  provided  that,  as  he 
bound  himself  to  suffer  at  the  stake,  in  case  he  could  be  convicted 
of  holding  any  erroneous  doctrine,  the  eight  doctors  would  also  on 
their  part  collectively  bind  themselves  to  suffer  in  the  same  way  on 
the  same  condition.  They  requested  time  for  deliberation  and  with- 
drew ;  then  they  came  forward  and  said,  that  one  of  them  would  bind 
himself  by  this  pledge  for  all.  To  this,  however,  Huss  would  not 
consent,  but  declared,  as  they  were  all  combined  together  against 
him,  and  he  stood  opposed  to  them  without  associates,  this  would  not 
be  fair.1  Finding  that  the  two  parties  would  never  be  able  to  agree 
in  settling  the  preliminary  arrangements,  the  privy  council  dissolved 
the  meeting,  having  first  admonished  both  that  they  should  try  to 
make  up  the  matter  between  themselves 2  —  an  admonition  which,  in 
their  present  state  of  exasperated  feeling,  would  pass  unheeded,' and 
which  was  intended,  perhaps,  simply  to  intimate  that  the  council  would 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  business. 

The  consequences  which  had  followed  in  the  train  of  the  dispute 
about  indulgences,  could  easily  be  taken  advantage  of  to  represent  Huss, 
in  Rome,  as  a  dangerous  man,  hostile  to  the  papacy.  His  enemies  at 
home  found  a  worthy  instrument  to  play  their  first  cards  at  the  Roman 
court,  in  Michael  of  Deutschbrod,  formerly  a  parish  priest,  commonlv 
known  as  Michael  de  Causis,  parochial  priest  to  St.  Adalbert's'church  in 
the  New  City  in  Prague.  This  man,  more  interested  about  reforms  in 
mining  than  reforms  in  the  church,  had  left  his  charge  and  entered  the 
service  of  the  king  to  carry  out  a  project  for  the  improvement  of  mining  by 
some  new  method  of  exploring  veins  of  gold.  The  king,  induced  by  certain 
representations  he  had  laid  before  him,  gave  him  a  sum  of  money  to  be 
expended  on  this  object.  But  failing  to  accomplish  what  he  had  prom- 
ised about  improvements  in  mining,  he  absconded  with  a  part  of  the 
money,  getting  still  more  from  the  enemies  of  Huss,  to  assist  them  in 
carrying  out  their  designs  against  the  latter  by  bribery,  an  all-powerful 
agent  with  the  creatures  of  that  monster  Pope  John,  though  hardly  needed 
to  secure  the  ruin  of  a  man  who  had  shown  himself  so  hostile  as  Huss  had 
done  to  the  Roman  papacy.  Before  the  pope  was  yet  informed  of  all  that 
had  transpired  in  Prague,  he  had  taken  the  case  of  Huss  out  of  the 
hands  of  Cardinal  Brancas,  to  whom  it  had  last  been  committed,  and 
given  it  over  to  another  cardinal,  Peter  de  St.  Angelo,  charging  him 
to  employ  the  severest  measures  against  the  recusant.     Upon  this,  the 

1  Refut.  scripti  octo  doct.,  opp.  I,  fol.        2  Concordetis  pulchre  inricem.    Ibid. 
292,  2. 

25* 


29-1  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

procurators  of  Huss  appealed  to  a  future  general  council,  and  were  im 
mediately  placed  under  arrest.  The  friend  of  Huss,  Master  Jesenic, 
made  his  escape  and  got  back  to  Prague.  The  Cardinal  now  pro- 
nounced sentence  of  excommunication  on  Huss,  in  the  most  terrible 
formulas.  If  he  persisted  twenty  days  in  his  disobedience  to  the  pope, 
the  ban  was  to  be  proclaimed  against  him  in  all  the  churches,  on  Sun- 
days and  festival  days,  with  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  and  the  extin- 
guishing of  all  the  tapers,  and  the  same  punishment  should  be  ex- 
tended to  all  who  kept  company  with  him.  The  interdict  should  be  laid 
on  every  place  that  harbored  him.  By  a  second  ordinance  of  the  pope, 
the  people  of  Prague  were  called  upon  to  seize  the  person  of  Huss,  and 
deliver  him  up  to  the  archbishop  of  Prague,  or  to  the  bishop  of  Lei- 
tomysl,  or  to  condemn  and  burn  him  according  to  the  laws.  Beth- 
lehem chapel  was  to  be  destroyed  from  its  foundation,  that  the 
heretics  might  no  longer  nestle  there.1  King  Wenceslaus  offered  no 
resistance  to  the  proclamation  of  these  papal  ordinances ;  at  the  same 
time  he  did  nothing  to  promote  their  execution.  The  party  opposed  to 
Huss  would  have  been  eager  therefore  to  carry  the  whole  into  effect,  had 
they  been  powerful  enough  to  do  so.  With  the  concurrence  of  the  senators 
in  the  Old  City  of  Prague,  the  majority  of  whom  were  still  Germans 
and  therefore  opponents  of  Huss,  many  citizens,  who  were  also  Germans, 
assembled  at  the  consecration  festival  of  the  church  of  Prague,  Oct.  2, 
under  Bernhard  Chotek  a  Bohemian  as  their  leader,  for  the  purpose  of 
dispersing  the  congregation  in  Bethlehem  chapel  and  getting  possession 
of  the  person  of  Huss.  But  the  firm  resolution  with  which  they  were 
met  by  the  congregation  who  gathered  around  Huss,  induced  them  to 
abandon  their  plan.  They  returned  back  to  the  senate  house,  where  it 
was  resolved  at  least  to  carry  into  execution  the  pope's  command  to 
destroy  Bethlehem  chapel.  But  when  this  resolution  came  to  be  known, 
such  violent  commotions  arose,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  abandon 
this  project  also.  The  party  of  Huss  did  not  allow  itself  to  be  intimi- 
dated by  the  pope's  bull  of  excommunication.  His  procurator,  Master 
Jesenic,  to  whom  the  pope's  bull  was  extended,  published  on  the  18th 
of  December  of  this  year,  at  the  university  of  Prague,  an  argument 
which  is  still  preserved,  in  which  he  undertook  to  demonstrate  the  in- 
validity of  everything  that  had  been  done  in  the  process  against  Huss. 
Huss  himself  could  not,  consistently  with  his  own  principles  as  they 
have  been  explained,  attribute  any  significance  to  an  unjust  excommu- 
nication. He  caused  to  be  engraved  on  the  walls  of  Bethlehem  chapel 
a  few  words,  showing  the  invalidity  of  such  an  excommunication,  to 
which  he  several  times  refers ;  and  finally,  when  no  other  earthly 
remedy  was  left  him,  he  appealed  from  the  venality  of  the  court  of  Rome 
to  the  one  incorruptible,  just,  and  infallible  judge,  Jesus  Christ.  Already, 
in  his  tract  against  Stephen  Paletz,  he  expresses  himself  on  this  subject 
in  the  following  language.  After  describing  what  pains  he  had  taken 
to  obtain  justice  at  the  Roman  chancery,  he  says  :  "  But  the  Roman 
court,  which  cares  not  for  the  sheep  without  the  wool,  would  never 

1  See  the  Chron.  univ.  Prag.,  cited  from  the  manuscript  in  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  286. 


HUS3    PLACED   UNDER   THE   BAN   AND   INTERDICT.  295 

cease  asking  for  money,  therefore  have  I  finally  appealed  from  it  to  the 
most  just  Judge  and  High  Priest  over  all."  l  This  appeal  he  published 
to  his  congregation  from  the  pulpit  of  Bethlehem  chapel.  It  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  times  that  this  act  should  also  be  objected  to  him  as  a 
contemptuous  trifling  with  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church,  as  an  inso- 
lent act  of  disobedience  to  the  pope,  and  an  overleaping  of  the  regular 
order  of  ecclesiastical  tribunals.  The  abbot  of  Dola  says,  in  his  invec- 
tive against  Huss,  "  Tell  me,  then,  who  accepted  your  appeal  ?  From 
whom  did  you  obtain  a  release  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  subordinate 
authorities  ?  You  would  not  say  from  the  laity,  and  your  daughters 
the  Beguins."2  The  parish  priests  of  Prague,  however,  paid  no  re- 
gard to  all  this,  but  only  obeyed  the  pope  ;  a  course,  too,  which  per- 
fectly fell  in  with  their  own  passions  and  interests.  From  all  the  pulpits 
they  published  the  ban  against  Huss  ;  they  strictly  observed  the  in- 
terdict ;  no  sacraments  were,  administered  ;  no  ecclesiastical  burial  was 
permitted.  Such  a  state  of  things  would,  as  ever,  provoke  the  most 
violent  disturbances  among  the  people.  The  king  himself,  therefore, 
was  urgent  with  Huss  that,  to  preserve  peace,  he  should  leave  Prague 
for  a  time.  Archbishop  Albic  did  not  feel  able  to  sustain  the  conflicts 
at  Prague  ;  nor  did  such  kind  of  activity  suit  his  love  of  repose.  At 
the  close  of  the  year  1412  he  laid  down  his  office,  and  Conrad  of  Vechta, 
bishop  of  Olmutz,  a  Westphalian,  a  zealous  advocate  of  the  hierarchy, 
and  more  inclined  to  severe  measures  in  support  of  it  than  his  prede- 
cessor, obtained,  first  under  the  name  of  ministrator,  the  administra- 
tion of  the  archbishopric  of  Prague,  till  finally,  after  long  protracted  ne- 
gotiations with  the  Roman  court,  he  became,  in  July,  1413,  archbishop 
in  the  full  sense. 

By  the  removal  of  Huss  from  Prague,  quiet  was  by  no  means  re- 
stored in  Bohemia.  His  principles  still  continued  to  operate  among  his 
important  party  at  Prague.  There  was  a  sharp  opposition  between  the 
two  parties,  the  Hussites  and  the  church  party.  King  Wenzel  thought 
it  wrong  to  allow  the  matter,  which  continually  grew  more  serious,  and 
involved  in  its  train  important  political  consequences,  to  go  on  thus  any 
longer.  The  college  of  the  ancient  nobles  of  the  land  had  already 
assembled  before  the  Christmas  of  1412,  for  the  purpose  of  advising 
about  the  restoration  of  peace  and  the  rescue  of  the  good  name  of  the 
Bohemian  people  in  foreign  lands.  The  assembling  of  a  national  synod 
for  this  purpose,  before  which  the  leaders  of  the  two  parties  should 
appear,  was  resolved  upon.  At  first  the  little  city  Bohmisch-Brod, 
which  belonged  to  the  archbishop  of  Prague,  was  selected  for  the  place 
of  meeting,  since  it  was  thought  that  the  appearance  of  Huss  in  this 
small  city,  notwithstanding  the  ban  under  which  he  lay  and  the  inter- 
dict on  his  place  of  residence,  would  create  little  or  no  disturbance. 
Here  the  proposals  of  the  two  parties  were  to  be  investigated.  On  the 
one  side  were  the  Prague  theological  faculty  of  the  eight  doctors,  at 
whose  head   were  Stephen  of  Paletz  and  Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  with 

1  Opp.  I,  fol.  256,  1.  ras  sive  apostolos'?  Nonne  a  la'icis  et  filia- 

2  Die  ergo  quaeso,  quis  detulit  tuae  ap-     bus  tuis  beginis  ?     Dial,  volat.  Pez,  IV.  2, 
pelldtioni  1  a  quo  petiisti  dimissorias  lite-     pag.  492. 


296  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

archbishop  John  the  Iron  of  Leitomysl  ;  on  the  other  side,  John  Huss. 
But  in  the  memorials  drawn  up  by  the  two  parties,  nothing  appeared  but 
the  most  diametrical  opposition  of  principles.  The  theological  faculty  traced 
all  the  schism  to  the  defending  of  the  forty-five  erroneous  doctrines  of 
Wicklif,  and  insisted  that  the  condemnation  of  them  should  be  rigorously 
observed,  and  that  the  decision  of  the  church  of  Rome  should  be  submit- 
ted to  in  every  point.    The  church  in  their  view  was  the  pope  as  head, 
and  the  college  of  cardinals  as  the  body.     Errors  they  found,  especially 
in  the  widely-spread  doctrines  about  the  power  of  the  keys  being  vested 
in  the  church  ;  errors  concerning  the  hierarchy  ;  concerning  the  seven 
sacraments  ;  concerning  the  veneration  of  relics ;  and  concerning  in- 
dulgence.    They  traced  all  these  errors  to  one  cause,  that  the   party 
admitted  no  other  authority  than  the  sacred  Scriptures,  explained  in 
their  own  sense  and  in  contrariety  with  the  doctrine  of  the  church  and 
of  entire  Christendom.     They  regarded  themselves,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  the  people,  who  alone  were  in  possession  of  the  truth,  inasmuch  as 
they  agreed  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Roman  church  and  of  entire  Chris- 
tendom.   They  required  in  all  matters  in  themselves  indifferent,  among 
which  were  to  be  reckoned  the  late  ordinances  of  the  pope  and  the 
process  against.  Huss,  unconditional  submission  to  the  Roman  church. 
The  disobedience  of  Huss  and  his  paiiy  to  the  commands  of  their  supe- 
riors passed,  with  them,  for  the  greatest  crime.     The  interdict  should 
be  strictly  observed  ;  the  order  forbidding  Huss  to  preach,  should  re- 
main in  full  force.    They  maintained  that,  since  the  proceedings  against 
Huss  had  been  accepted  by  the  collective  body  of  the  clergy  of  Prague, 
and  they  had  submitted  to  them,  therefore   all  should  do  the  same, 
especially  as  they  related  only  to  things  in  themselves  indifferent,  for- 
bade nothing  good,  and  commanded  nothing  wrong ;   and  it  was  not 
the  business  of  the  clergy  of  Prague  to  judge  whether  the  ban  pro- 
nounced on  John  Huss  was  a  just  or  an  unjust  one.     Severe  punish- 
ment for  publicly  holding  forth  any  of  those  things  which  they  from 
their  particular  point  of  view  called  heresy,  was  required  by  them. 
Their  proposals  for  peace,  therefore,  looked  to  nothing  else  than'  a  total 
suppression  of  the  other  party  and  the  triumph  of  their  own.   Huss,  on  the 
other  hand,  began  by  laying  down  the  principle,  that  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures alone  should  pass  as  a  final  authority  ;  no  obedience  could  be  re- 
quired to  that  which  was  at  variance  with  their  teaching.     He  said,  in 
answer  to  the  challenge  of  obedience  to  the  interdict  and  ban  :  "  It 
were  the  same  as  to  argue  that,  because  the  judgment  pronouncing 
Christ  a  traitor,  an  evil  doer,  and  worthy  of  death,  was  approved  by 
the  collective  body  of  the  priests  in  Jerusalem,  therefore  that  judgment 
must  be  acquiesced  in." l     Looking  at  the  matter  from  this  point  of 
view,  he   was  conscious  of  no  heresy  himself,  nor  could  he  see  any 
ground  for  asserting  that  heresies  existed  in  Bohemia.    He  demanded, 
therefore,  that  they  should  return  back  to  the  earlier  compact  concluded 
under  archbishop  Zbynek.   He  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  clear  him- 
self from  the  charge  of  heresy  against  any  man,  or  else  suffer  at  the 

1  Opp.  I,  fol.  247,  2. 


SYNOD  OF  PRAGUE,  A.  D.  1413.  297 

6take,  provided  his  accusers  would  also  bind  themselves  under  the  same 
conditions.  Every  man  who  took  it  upon  himself  to  accuse  another  of 
heresy,  should  be  required  to  come  forward  and  take  this  pledge. 
But  if  none  could  be  found  that  were  able  to  do  so,  then  it  should  be 
proclaimed  anew  that  heresy  did  not  exist  in  Bohemia.  The  hierar- 
chical party  would  naturally  look  upon  all  this  as  a  mere  shift  to  avoid 
the  necessity  of  submitting  to  the  church,  and  of  giving  up  the  defence 
of  heresy.  Archbishop  John  the  Iron,  of  Leitomysl,  approved  the 
propositions  of  the  other  party,  and  declared  strongly  against  those  of 
the  party  of  Huss.  He  advised  that  all  writings  in  the  vulgar  language 
of  Bohemia,  relating  to  religious  subjects,  writings  that  had  contributed 
in  a  special  manner  to  the  spread  of  heresy,  should  be  condemned,  and 
the  reading  of  them  forbidden.1  Where  there  was  such  contrariety  in 
principles,  as  we  here  see  manifested,  it  is  evident  that  all  attempts  at 
compromise  would  necessarily  prove  idle,  or  only  terminate  in  making 
the  breach  still  wider.  These  transactions  afforded  Huss  a  good  op- 
portunity for  more  fully  expounding  and  defending,  in  the  tracts  which 
he  wrote  in  confutation  of  the  propositions  above  stated,  of  the  arrogant 
pretensions  clearly  avowed  therein  by  the  other  party,  and  of  the  accu- 
sations brought  against  him  and  his  friends,  the  principles  which  had 
guided  him  in  these  disputes,  and  which  by  occasion  of  these  disputes 
became  more  distinctly  evolved  to  his  own  consciousness.  We  shall 
state  them  more  fully  in  the  next  section,  where  we  shall  recur  to  them 
for  the  purpose  of  a  more  distinct  exposition  of  the  doctrines  and  prin- 
ciples of  Huss,  and  of  their  bearing  on  the  aims  and  tendencies  of  the 
dominant  party.  The  synod  above  mentioned  was  not  held,  as  at  first 
intended,  at  Bohmisch-Brod,  but  in  Prague  itself,  on  the  6th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1413.  Huss  therefore  could  not  be  present.  His  place  was 
represented  by  his  advocate,  Master  John  of  Jesenic.  Before  this 
synod  were  laid  the  propositions  of  the  two  parties.  And  here  it  should 
be  mentioned,  that  one  of  the  most  zealous  friends  of  Huss,  Master 
Jacobellus  of  Mies,  submitted  a  resolution  to  this  effect  :  that  if  the 
matter  now  in  question  related  to  the  restoration  of  peace,  it  should 
first  be  settled  what  peace  was  meant,  whether  peace  with  the  world, 
or  with  God;  the  latter  depended  on  keeping  the  divine  command- 
ments. The  origin  of  the  strife  was  this:  that  the  attempts  of  some 
to  bring  back  that  peace  of  God  met  with  such  unholy  and  violent  re- 
sistance on  the  part  of  others.  Yet  the  peace  of  the  world  without 
christian  and  divine  peace,  would  be  as  unstable  as  it  was  worthless. 
Let  the  king  but  give  his  thoughts  to  the  latter  first,  and  the  other 
would  follow  of  itself.2  The  result  of  this  synod  was  such  as  might 
be  expected  in  a  case  where  the  direct  contrariety  of  the  propositions 
offered  rendered  compromise  impossible.  It  broke  up  without  having 
accomplished  anything.  But  the  king,  who  looked  at  nothing  but  the 
interests  of  his  government,  and  therefore  desired  nothing  but  a  peace- 
ful compromise,  tried  yet  another  expedient.   He  appointed  a  committee 

'  See  the   documents   in  Cochlaeus,  p.         *  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  293. 
29  sq.,  and  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  289  ff. 


298  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY  AND    DOCTRINE. 

composed  of  four  members  :  the  archbishop  Albic,  the  Wysehrad  dean 
Jacob,  the  provost  of  All-Saints  Master  Zdenek  of  Labaun,  and  the 
rector  of  the  university  Master  Christann  of  Prachatic1  This  commit- 
tee was  empowered  to  take  every  measure  necessary  for  the  restoration 
of  concord  and  tranquillity.  They  carried  it  so  far  as  to  oblige  the  two 
parties  to  bind  themselves  under  the  penalty  of  a  pecuniary  forfeit  and 
of  banishment  from  the  country,  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  this  com- 
mittee. But  the  same  reasons  which  had  operated  to  defeat  the  pur- 
pose of  the  synod,  would  operate  with  equal  force  against  this  experi- 
ment also.  No  sooner  did  they  proceed  to  reduce  to  form  the  first 
proposition,  expressing  the  agreement  of  the  two  parties  with  the  faith 
of  the  church  on  the  matter  of  the  holy  sacraments  and  the  authority 
of  the  church,  than  a  dispute  arose  out  of  this,  namely,  that  Paletz, 
who  with  his  friends  did  not  consider  themselves  as  a  party  standing 
over  against  the  others,  but  as  defending  the  cause  of  the  church 
against  a  party  standing  opposed  to  that  cause,  thought  he  could  not 
concede,  that  he  and  his  were  also  to  be  called  a  pars,  a  mere  party. 
He  then  directly  proceeded  to  lay  down  his  definition  of  the  church,  a  de- 
finition which  the  other  party  would  not  admit;  against  which  indeed  they 
had  always  protested,  as  is  evident  from  the  writings  of  Huss  ;  a  defi- 
nition by  admitting  which  the  party  of  Huss  would  have  surrendered 
all  their  principles ;  namely,  that  by  the  church  is  to  be  understood 
the  body  of  cardinals  under  the  pope  as  their  head.  Master  John  of 
Jesenic,  who  represented  the  party  of  Huss,  finally  yielded,  but  with 
the  qualifying  clause  that  he  and  his  party  accepted  the  decisions  of 
the  church  as  every  faithful  Christian  ought  to  accept  and  understand 
them.  Now  by  this  clause  the  definition,  chosen  with  a  purpose  by  the 
other  party,  was  indeed,  of  itself,  rendered  impotent  ;  for,  under  the 
phrase, '  such  acceptation  as  every  believing  Christian  is  bound  to  give,' 
was  meant  to  be  understood,  by  those  from  whom  this  clause  proceeded, 
that  everything  was  excluded  thereby  which  might  stand  at  variance 
with  their  principle  that  the  sacred  Scriptures  are  the  sole  determining 
rule  of  faith.  The  commission,  who  had  no  other  interest  in  view  than 
that  of  securing  an  agreement,  and  who  were  ready  to  welcome  any 
terms  of  agreement  however  ambiguously  expressed,  would  be  satisfied 
with  this.  But  looking  upon  the  thing  from  their  own  point  of  view,  the 
other  party  could  not  be  blamed  when  they  were  led,  by  the  same  in- 
terest which  had  induced  them  to  propose  their  narrow  definition  of  the 
church,  to  protest  against  a  clause  by  which  their  whole  object  would 
be  defeated.  Stanislaus  of  Znaim  and  Stephen  Paletz  declared  that 
this  was  only  a  shift,  a  pretext,  under  which  to  conceal  discord  and 
disobedience.  And  in  this,  judged  according  to  their  own  point  of 
view,  they  were  right.  For  two  days  they  vainly  disputed  on  this 
point.  On  the  third,  Paletz  and  the  other  doctors  who  had  protested, 
wholly  absented  themselves,  accusing  the  Commission  of  weakness  and 
partiality.  King  Wenceslaus  now  looked  upon  the  four  members  of  the 
theological  faculty,  who  by  their  protest  had  hindered  the  compromise, 

1  The  same,  p.  294. 


COMMITTEE    FOR    SETTLEMENT    OF    TERMS    OF   AGREEMENT.         299 

as  the  promoters  of  schism,  being  unfaithful  to  the  pledge  under  which 
they  had  engaged  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  committee  ;  and  he 
deprived  them  of  their  places  and  banished  them  from  the  country.  Thus 
fell  the  party  which  regarded  itself  as  exclusively  the  party  of  the 
church.  Another  defeat  awaited  it.  In  the  senate  of  Prague  the  Ger- 
man element  had  hitherto  had  the  ascendancy ;  and  it  was  in  fact  this 
element  chiefly  which  resisted,  in  a  decided  manner,  every  tendency  to 
reform  ;  and  hence  those  measures  adopted  by  the  senate  against  the 
cause  of  Huss,  of  which  we  have  spoken  before.  But  King  Wenzel 
was  now  induced  so  to  alter  the  relation,  that  out  of  the  two  races,  Bo- 
hemians and  Germans,  all  the  nine  members  should  be  chosen  into  the 
senate  by  the  king.  At  the  same  time  a  German,  who  had  hitherto 
been  a  leader  among  the  opponents  of  Huss,  the  senator  John  Oertel 
was,  for  some  unknown  reason,  executed.  Thus  another  victory,  if  it 
might  be  called  such,  was  gained  by  the  Hussite  party.  But  the 
hatred  of  the  hierarchical  party  in  Bohemia  towards  the  Hussites  would 
only  be  fanned,  by  such  events,  to  more  violent  flame,  and  its  organs 
subsequently  obtained,  by  the  concatenation  of  greater  events  in  the 
progress  of  church  development,  an  opportunity  to  exercise  their  re- 
venge. Stanislaus  of  Znaim  died,  it  is  true,  soon  afterwards  ;  but  Pa- 
letz  had  the  satisfaction  to  appear  as  the  fiercest  accuser  of  Huss  at 
the  council  of  Constance.  We  now  return  back  to  the  personal  history 
of  Huss. 

He  had  in  the  meantime  retreated  to  castles  belonging  to  his 
friends  ;  and,  while  the  seed  scattered  by  him  in  Prague  was  pro- 
ducing its  fruits,  he  was  enabled  to  prosecute  at  greater  leisure  the 
defence  of  his  principles  by  writings.  He  spent  the  first  part  of  the 
time  chiefly  at  the  castle,  Kozi-hradek,  which  belonged  to  the  lords  of 
Austie.  Here  he  wrote  the  most  important  of  all  his  works,  —  the 
one  chiefly  appealed  to  in  conducting  the  process  against  him  which 
brought  him  to  the  stake.  This  was  his  book  De  ecclesia,  and  the 
controversial  writings  therewith  connected,  tracts  directed  against  the 
theological  faculty  in  Prague,  against  Stephen  Paletz,  and  against 
Stanislaus  of  Znaim,  —  writings,  of  which  we  have  already  availed 
ourselves  in  tracing  the  thread  of  the  author's  history,  in  explaining 
his  principles  and  describing  his  labors,  although  in  point  of  chrono- 
logy they  presuppose  the  work  De  ecclesia.  It  is  characteristic  of 
Huss,  that  precisely  at  this  critical  juncture,  where  the  contest  threat- 
ened to  be  most  dangerous,  he  should  unfold  in  this  work  De  ecclesia, 
without  regard  to  consequences,  those  doctrines  which  would  inevit- 
ably most  contribute  to  fix  upon  him  the  stigma  of  heresy.  Accord- 
ingly, Cardinal  D'Ailly  remarked  of  this  work,  before  the  council  of 
Constance,  that  through  an  endless  multitude  of  arguments  it  attacked 
the  papal  authority  and  the  plenitude  of  the  papal  power,  as  much  as 
the  Koran  did  the  Catholic  faith.1    Huss  in  this  work  traces  the  origin 

1  Qui  quidem  liber  per  infinita  argu-  Aleoranus  impugnat  catholicam  fidem. 
menta  ita  impngnat  auctoritatem  papa-  D'Ailly,  do  necessitate  reformationis,  in 
leni  et  ejus  plenitudincm  potestatis,  sieut     Works"  of  (Jerson,  Tom.  II,  p.  901. 


800  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

of  the  -whole  dispute  to  his  attacks  of  the  secularized  clergy.     He 
distributes  the  entire  body  of  the  clergy  into  two  classes :    the  clerus 
Ohristi and  the  clerus  Antichristi.    "  We  must  regard  the  clerical  body 
—  he  sa}rs  —  as  made  up  of  two  sects  :   the  clergy  of  Christ  and  those 
of  Antichrist.     The  Christian  clergy  lean  on  Christ  as  their  leader, 
and  on  his  laws.     The  clergy  of  Antichrist  lean  for  the  most  part  or 
wholly  on  human  laws  and  the  laws  of  Antichrist ;  and  yet  pretend  to 
be  the  clergy  of  Christ  and  of  the  church,  so  as  to  seduce  the  people 
by  a  more  cunning  hypocrisy.     And  two  sects  which  are  so  directly 
opposed,  must  necessarily  be  governed  by  two  opposite  heads  with 
their  corresponding  laws." J    He  says  :  "  The  priests  of  Christ  preach- 
ed against  the  vices  of  a  corrupt  clergy.     Hence  arose  the  schism, 
and  hence  that  clergy  sought  to  suppress  such  preaching."     He  says, 
"  how  can  there  be  anything  more  senseless  than  a  clergy  giving  them- 
selves up  to  the  dross  of  this  world,  and  making  a  mockery  of  the  life 
and  teaching  of  Christ  ?     For,  so  exceedingly  corrupt  are  the  clergy 
already,  that  they  hate  those  who  frequently  preach,  and  frequently 
mention  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;   and,  if  a  man  ventures  to  quote 
Christ  for  himself,  they  say  with  scorn  and  bitterness,  Art  thou  Christ  ? 
And,  after  the  manner  of  the  Pharisees,  they  trouble  and  excommuni- 
cate those  who  acknowledge  Christ.    It  was  because  I  preached  Christ 
and  the  gospel,  and  exposed  Antichrist,  anxious  that  the  clergy 'should 
live  according  to  the  law  of  Christ,  that  the  prelates  first,  with  Arch- 
bishop Zbynek,  contrived  to  get  a  bull  from  Pope  Alexander  V,  to 
prohibit  preaching  in  the  chapels  before  the  people,  from  which  bull  I 
had  appealed :    but  I  was  never  able  to  get  a  hearing.     Therefore,  on 
on  good  and  reasonable  grounds,  I  did  not  appear  when  I  was  cited. 
Therefore,  by  the  instrumentality  of  Michael  de  Causis,  they  got  me 
placed  under  the  ban,  when  a  compromise  had  already  been  effected  ; 
and,  finally,  they  contrived  to  obtain  an  interdict,  by  which  they  op- 
press the  Christian  people  for  no  fault  of  their  own."     In  accounting 
for  his  non-appearance  in  Rome  he  explains  himself  further,  as  fol- 
lows :    "  What  reason  had  I  for  obedience  —  a  man  summoned  from  a 
distance  of  1200  miles.     What  reason  that  I,  a  man  unknown  to  the 
pope,  informed  against  by  my  enemies,  should  be  so  very  solicitous  and 
put  myself  to  such  extraordinary  pains,  to  pass  through  the  midst  of 
my  enemies,  and  place  myself  before  judges  and  witnesses,  who  are 
my  enemies,  that  I  should  use  up  the  property  of  the  poor  to  defray 
the  enormous  expenses,  or  if  I  could  not  meet  the  expenses,  miserably 
perish  from  hunger  and  thirst  ?     And  what  was  to  be  gained  by  my 
appearance  ?     One   consequence   certainly   would  be  neglect  of  the 
work  which  God  gave  me  to  do,  for  my  own  salvation  and  that  of 
others.     There  I  should  be  learning,  not  how  to  believe,  but  how  to 
conduct  a  process,  a  thing  not  permitted  to  a  servant  of  God.     There 
I    should  be    robbed   by   the    consistory   of  cardinals  —  made    luke- 
warm in  holy  living ;  be  betrayed  into  impatience  by  oppression  ;  and, 
if  I  had  nothing  to  give,  must  be  condemned,  let  my  cause  be  ever  so 

1  De  ecclesia,  opp.  I,  fol.  226,  1. 


THE   WORK   OF  HUSS    ENTITLED  "  DE  ECCLESIA."  301 

good  ;  and,  what  is  still  worse,  I  should  be  compelled  to  worship  the 
pope  on  my  bended  knees."  Appealing  to  the  words  inscribed  on  the 
walls  at  Bethlehem,1  he  mentions,  as  a  reason  why  the  pretended  ban 
could  not  affect  him,  that  his  judges  and  witnesses  at  Rome  were  his 
enemies,  and,  in  particular,  that  his  judge  was  a  party  concerned  in 
the  cause. 2  "It  is  —  says  he  —  a  great  distance  ;  —  everywhere  on 
this  journey  I  should  be  surrounded  by  my  enemies  the  Germans.3  I 
see  no  advantage  to  be  gained  by  my  appearance  ;  but  the  contrary  ; 

—  I  must  neglect  my  people  in  the  word  of  God.  I  hope  Christ  has 
warned  against  any  such  peril,  when  he  says :  Lo,  I  send  you  as 
sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  be  ye,  therefore,  wise  as  serpents  and 
harmless  as  doves,  (Matt.  10:  16).  With  regard  to  the  interdict, 
he  speaks  of  that  as  an  unchristian  thing  in  itself.  He  traces  its  origin 
to  the  twelfth  century,  under  Pope  Hadrian  IV,  who,  for  some  ill- 
treatment  or  other  of  a  cardinal,  laid  an  interdict  on  the  place  where 
Arnold  of  Brescia  resided  —  which,  to  be  sure,  is  not  strictly  correct 

—  and  he  remarks  :  "0,  how  patient  was  that  pope  ;  but  yet  not  like 
Christ,  and  the  apostles  Peter,  Paul,  and  Andrew."  "  Perhaps — says 
he  afterwards  —  that  language  of  the  Roman  court  is  founded  upon 
the  exhortation:  We  ought  always  to  pray  and  not  faint,  (Luke 
18  :  1)  ;  or,  on  the  words :  Praise  the  Lord,  all  ye  people,  (Ps. 
117  :  1).  But  what  would  the  people  say  who  hold  such  language, 
should  it  happen  that  John  Huss  arrives  at  the  city  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  where  cherubim  and  seraphim  cease  not  daily  to  cry  with 
one  voice  :  "  Holy  is  our  God  ?  Will  these  on  account  of  the  papal 
bull  cease  to  praise  God,  so  that  Christ,  the  true  intercessor  with  God, 
must  cease  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  the  faithful  his  members  ?  " 

Though  Huss  was  very  far  from  harboring  any  intention  to  found  a 
new  church,  or  to  renounce  the  church  of  that  time,  yet  the  principle 
from  which  such  a  renunciation  would  necessarily  follow,  was,  it  must 
be  owned,  sharply  expressed  and  clearly  unfolded  in  this  book  and  the 
controversial  tracts  which,  as  we  have  said,  were  connected  with  it. 

1  Et  si  non  vis  credere,  disce  in  Bethle-  tate  exponenda  (quae  Veritas  Christus  est). 
hem  in  pariete,  ibi  reperies.  quomodo  justo  qui  etiam,  ubi  non  est  timor,  times  mor- 
non  noeet  excommunicatio,  sed  proficit,  tem  ?  Numquid  commortuus  fuit  in  te 
et  quare  debet  etiam  Justus  timere  excom-  sermo  dominicus  :  Nolite  timere  eos,  qui 
municationem  injustam  praelaticam  vel  corpus  occidunt ;  animam  autem  non  pos- 
Pilaticam.     Fol.  249,  2.  sunt  occidere  1     Numquid   legisti  :    Quis 

2  Judicem  principaliter  tangit  causa,  accusabit  adversus  eleetos  dei  1  Deus, 
Fol.  244,  2.  qui  justificat;    quis  est   qui   condcmnet  ? 

3  The  naive  manner  in  which  the  abbot  Ad  curiam  citatus  debuisti  potius  humili- 
of  Dola  labors  to  refute  these  arguments,  ter  parere  et  cum  apostolo  dicere  :  Si  dens 
reproaching  Huss  with  cowardice,  exhort-  pro  nobis,  quis  contra  nos  1  Ecce  deus 
ing  him  to  trust  in  God  and  fear  nothing,  proprio  filio  suo  non  pepercit,  sed  pro  no- 
and  holding  up  to  him  the  example  of  bis  omnibus  tradidit  ilium,  etiam  judican- 
Christ  when  he  appeared  before  Pilate,  is  dum  impio  judici  Filato,  numquid  tu  ma- 
quite  characteristic.  We  will  quote  a  spe-  jor  es  Christo  ?  Christus  pro  nobis  non 
cimen  of  his  fine  logic  :  Ecce  cum  nee-  refugit  judicari  ab  iniquo  judice  :  et  tu 
dum  audieris  proelia  et  seditiones,  jam  contemhis,  imo  condemnas  pro  expurgan- 
contra  Christi  exhortationem  stolide  ter-  dis  tuis  propriis  peccatis  judicium  summi 
reris.  Et  ubi  sermo  sapientiae  :  Pro  jus-  pontificis,  vicarii  Jcsu  Christi  ?  Dial,  vo- 
titia  certa  usque  ad  mortem  ?    Et  tu  dices  lat.  Pez,  IV,  2,  pag.  465  et  466. 

te  intrepidum  praedieatorem  esse  pro  veri- 

VOL.  V.  26 


302  HISTORY    OP   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

From  the  direct  unmediated  reference  of  the  Christian  consciousness 
to  the  Saviour,  such  as  we  find  in  these  works,  results  already  a  new 
and  more  spiritual  conception  of  the  church,  another  conception  of  the 
necessity  of  the  church  unity,  opposed  to  the  theory  of  a  necessary 
visible  head.  Already,  we  find,  in  its  germ,  the  distinction  of  visible 
and  invisible  church.  In  reference  to  this  last,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
remark,  that  Huss,  taking  his  start  from  the  strict  Augustinian  system 

—  though  his  predominant  practical  bent  prevents  him  from  using 
such  hard  expressions,  amounting  to  a  denial  of  all  freedom,  as  are  to 
be  found  in  Wicklif — must  nevertheless  define  the  church,  so  far  as 
it  corresponds  to  its  true  idea,  as  the  community  of  the  elect ;  and, 
though  with  Augustin,  he  gives  prominence  to  the  notion  of  a  living 
faith,  yet  he  also,  with  Augustin  and  the  entire  western  church,  ap- 
prehended the  notion  of  justification  after  a  wholly  subjective  manner ; 
and  hence  by  him,  too,  it  was  argued,  that  no  man  could  without  a 
special  revelation,  have  any  certainty  on  the  point,  whether  or  not,  he 
belonged  to  the  number  of  the  predestinated  or  the  elect.  Thus 
in  adverting  to  Christ's  words :  "  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  my  name,  I  am  in  the  midst  of  them,"  he  says :  There, 
then,  would  be  a  true  particular  church ;  and,  accordingly,  where 
three  or  four  are  assembled,  up  to  the  whole  number  of  the  elect ; 
and,  in  this  sense,  the  term  church  was  often  used  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. "  And  thus  —  says  he  —  all  the  righteous  who  now,  in  the 
archbishopric  of  Prague,  live  under  the  reign  of  Christ,  and  in  parti- 
cular the  elect,  are  the  true  church  of  Prague."  But,  the  one  Cath- 
olic Church  is  the  universitas  praedestinatorum,  i.  e.,  the  praedesti- 
nate  of  all  times.  He  then  distinguishes  the  church  in  the  proper 
and  in  the  improper  sense,  vere  et  nuncupative.  The  former  is  the 
community  of  the  elect,  in  the  second  sense  also,  the  congregatio  prae- 
scitorum.  Then  the  church  is  denominated,  in  a  mixed  sense,  the 
community  of  the  praesciti&n&of  the  praedestinati  at  once  ;  so  that,  in 
this  case,  one  part  is  the  church  in  the  proper,  the  other  in  the  impro- 
per sense.  That  would  be  the  visible  church,  therefore,  in  which,  as 
we  should  say,  those  who  partake  of  the  essence  of  the  invisible  church, 
and  those  who  belong  merely  to  the  visible,  are  commingled.  But, 
then,  according  to  his  above  described  doctrine,  no  one  can  have  any 
certainty  on  the  point,  whether  he  belongs  or  not  to  the  number  of  the 
elect ;  and  hence  neither  can  any  one  be  certain  that  he  is  a  member 
of  the  true  church.  "  It  would  —  says  he  —  be  the  height  of  arro- 
gance for  any  man  fearlessly  to  assert,  without  a  special  revelation, 
that  he  is  a  member  of  that  holy  church  ;  for  none  but  the  praedesti- 
nate  is  a  member  without  spot  or  wrinkle  of  that  church.     Therefore 

—  says  he  —  we  may  well  be  amazed  to  see  with  what  effrontery  those 
who  are  most  devoted  to  the  world,  who  live  most  worldly  and  abom- 
inable lives,  most  distant  from  the  walk  with  Christ,  and  who  are  most 
unfruitful  in  performing  the  counsels  and  commandments  of  Christ, 
with  what  fearless  effrontery  such  persons  assert,  that  they  are  heads, 
or  eminent  members  of  the  church,  which  is  His  bride."  When  he 
wrote  this,  Huss  may  have  had  in  his  thoughts  Pope  John  XXIII,  of 


THE  WORK    OF   IIUSS    ENTITLED    DE   ECCLESIA.  303 

whose  vices  he  had  doubtless  already  heard.  Hence,  too,  he  distin- 
guishes those  who  may  at  a  certain  time,  by  the  indications  of  their 
life  in  righteousness,  seem  to  be  members  of  the  church,  and  who  yet, 
as  they  do  not  belong  to  the  number  of  the  praedestinate,  are  not 
members  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ.1  Paletz  had  offered  it  as  an 
objection  to  the  party  of  Huss,  that  they  talked  of  four  parties  in  the 
church,  the  parties  of  the  three  popes,  and  a  fourth  neutral  party. 
This  led  Huss  to  remark :  Paletz  did  not  understand,  then,  that  the 
universal  church  of  the  faithful,  which  is  in  the  whole  world  where 
believers  are  to  be  found,  the  church  which  is  engaged  in  the  warfare 
and  scattered,  is  divided  not  merely  into  three  parts,  but  into  very 
many  parts,  all  which  went  to  constitute  the  entirety  of  the  church. 
Had  not,  then,  this  church  its  members,  and  its  sons  in  Spain  under 
Benedict,  and  in  Apulia  and  on  the  Rhine  under  Gregory,  and  in 
Bohemia  under  John  XXIII  ?  God  forbid  that  the  Christian  faith 
should  be  extinguished  in  the  simple  faithful,  and  that  the  grace  of 
baptism  should  be  annihilated  in  baptized  children  on  account  of  the 
three  beasts  that  are  quarrelling  with  one  another  for  their  dignity, 
their  pomp,  and  their  avarice.2  —  "  Let  him  retreat  within  himself  — 
says  he  of  Paletz  —  and  sing  that  song  of  the  church :  The  holy 
church,  throughout  all  the  world,  doth  acknowledge  thee."  And  pray 
in  tbe  song  of  the  mass :  "  To  thee  we  offer  the  gifts  for  thy  holy 
Catholic  church  which  thou  wilt  preserve  and  guide,  scattered  through- 
out all  the  world.  When  he  sings  and  prays  thus,  and  meditates  on 
Ghrist's  gospel  with  the  sayings  of  Augustin,  Jerome,  and  other  saints, 
should  he  not  be  surprised  rather  to  learn  that  the  church  of  Christ  is 
divided  into  three  parts?"  He  adverts  here  also  to  the  words  of 
Christ,  that  where  two  or  three  were  assembled  in  his  name,  he  was  in 
the  midst  of  them. — He  gives  special  prominence  to  the  truth  that 
Christ  alone  is  the  all-sufficient  head  of  the  church ;  that  the  church 
needs  no  other,  and  that  therein  consists  its  unity.  After  having  cited 
Kphesians  1 :  21,  to  show  that  Christ  is  the  sole  head,  he  argues  that 
if  a  Christian  in  connection  with  Christ  were  the  head  of  the  universal 
church,  we  should  have  to  concede,  that  such  a  Christian  was  Christ 
himself,  or  that  Christ  was  subordinate  to  him,  and  only  a  member  of 
the  church.  Therefore  the  apostles  had  never  thought  of  being  aught 
else  than  servants  of  that  head,  and  humble  ministers  of  the  church 
his  bride  ;  but  no  one  of  them  had  ever  thought  of  excepting  himself 
and  asserting  that  he  was  head  or  bridegroom  of  the  church.    "  Christ 

1  Qui  nnde  secundum  praesentem  justi-  Numquid  non  habet  sua  membra  et  suos 
tiam  et  taliter  sunt  praesciti  de  ecclesia  filios  in  Hispania  sub  Benedicto,  et  in 
pro  tempore  quo  sunt  in  gratia.  Ilia  au-  Apulia  et  in  Rheno  sub  Gregorio,  et  in 
tem  ecclesia  non  est  corpus  Cbristi  mysti-  Bohemia  sub  Joanne  XXI11  3  AIimt. 
cum.  See  tbe  passages  cited  thus  far  in  quod  sit  exstincta  Christi  rides  in  simpli- 
Dc  ecclesia,  opp.  I,  f'ol.  196-206.  cibus  Christi  hdelibus  et  in  baptisatis  par- 

2  Non  eognoscit  iste  fictor,  quod  univer-  vulis  sit  exstincta  papalis  (doubtless  we 
Balis  ecclesia  Christi  fidelium,  militans  per  should  read  baptismalis)  gratia  propter  tres 
totum  orbcm,  ubi  sunt  Christi  fidcles,  est  bestias,  pro  dignitate  et  fastu  et  avaritia 
diffusa,  quae  non  solum  tripartitur,  imo  contendentes.  Eesp.  ad  sir.  Paletz,  opp 
multipliciter,  ultra  dividitur  in  partes  ip-  I  fol.  260,  2. 

sain    universalem   ecclesiam    integrantes. 


304  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

—  says  he  —  is  the  all-sufficient  head  of  the  church  ;  as  he  proved, 
during  300  years  of  the  existence  of  the  church  and  still  longer,  in 
which  time  the  church  was  most  prosperous  and  happy."  And  the  law 
of  Christ  was  the  most  effectual  to  decide  and  determine  ecclesiastical 
affairs,  since  God  himself  had  given  it  for  this  purpose.  "  For  Christ 
never  allows  the  case  to  occur  in  which  the-  church  can  fail  to  be 
governed  by  his  law,  since  pious  priests  bring  that  law  before  the 
people  to  be  applied  according  to  the  rules  of  holy  teachers,  —  rules 
which  they  have  made  known  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
as  is  evident  from  the  examples  of  an  Augustin,  a  Gregory,  an  Am- 
brosius,  who,  after  the  apostles,  were  given  to  the  church  to  be  her 
teachers."  Hence  it  was  manifest,  that  an  Augustin  had  benefited  the 
church  more  than  many  popes  had  done ;  and  in  instruction  had  done 
more  perhaps  than  all  the  cardinals  from  their  first  creation  down  to 
the  present.1  Following  out  certain  maxims  of  Augustin,2  he  declares 
that  Christ  himself  was  the  rock  which  Peter  professed,  and  on  which 
Christ  founded  the  church,  who  would  therefore  come  forth  triumph- 
ant out  of  all  her  conflicts.3  He  says,'  the  pope  and  the  cardinals 
might  be  the  most  eminent  portion  of  the  church  in  respect  of  dignity, 
yet  only  in  case  they  followed  more  carefully  the  pattern  of  Christ, 
and  laying  aside  pomp  and  the  ambition  of  the  primacy,  served  in  a 
more  active  and  humble  manner,  their  mother  the  church.  But  pro- 
ceeding in  the  opposite  way,  they  became  the  abomination  of  desola- 
tion, a  college  opposed  to  the  humble  college  of  the  apostles  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.*  Why  should  not  Christ,  who,  in  the  holy  supper, 
grants  to  believers  the  privilege  of  participating  in  a  sacramental  and 
spiritual  manner  of  himself;  why  should  not  he  be  more  present  to 
the  church,  than  the  pope,  who,  living  at  a  distance  of  more  than  800 
miles  from  Bohemia,  could  not  by  himself  act  directly  on  the  feelings 
and  the  movements  of  the  faithful  in  Bohemia,  as"  it  was  incumbent  on 
the  head  to  do !  It  would  be  enough,  then,  to  say  that  the  pope  is  a 
representative  of  Christ ;  and  it  would  be  well  for  him,  if  he  were  a 
faithful  servant,  predestinated  to  a  participation  in  the  glory  of  his 
head  —  Jesus  Christ.  Huss  asserts  that  the  papacy,  by  which  a  visi- 
ble head  was  given  to  the  church,  derived  its  origin  from  the  Emperor 
Constantine ;  for,  until  the  gift  of  Constantine,  the  pope  was  but  a 
colleague  of  the  other  bishops.5  If  the  Almighty  Gdd  could  not  give 
other  true  successors  of  the  apostles  than  the  pope  and  the  cardinals, 
it  would  follow,  that  the  power  of  the  emperor,  a  mere  man,  by  whom 
the  pope  and  the  cardinals  were  instituted,  had  set  limits  to  the  power 
of  God.6  Speaking  of  the  sovereignty  of  Rome  conferred  on  the 
pope  by  Louis  the  pious,  he  says :  "  The  Apostle  Peter,  if  God  pleased, 
might  surely  have  said  to  Louis,  I  accept  not  what  thou  offerest  me  ; 
for,  when  I  was  bishop  of  Rome,  I  forsook  all,  and  desired  not  to  re- 
ceive the  sovereignty  of  Rome  from  Nero ;  neither  did  I  need  it,  and 

1  De  ecclesia,  oop.  I.  fol.  202,  2,  and  fol.  3  De  ecclesia,  opp.  I,  fol.  210,  1. 
224,  2.  «  Ibid.  fol.  207,  2. 

2  Which  we  have  cited  in  Church  His-  *  Ibid.  fol.  224,  2. 
tory,  Vol.  n,  p.  168.  «  Ibid.  fol.  224,  2  et  225 


THE   WORK   OF   HUSS   DE   ECCLESIA.  305 

I  see  that  it  is  a  great  injury  to  my  successors  ;  for  it  is  a  hindrance 
to  them,  this  same  honor,  in  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in  wholesome 
prayer  in  fulfilling  the  divine  commandments  and  counsels ;  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  are  betrayed  by  it  into  pride.  Since,  then,  the 
Almighty  God  is  able  to  take  away  the  prerogatives  of  all  those 
emperors,  and  to  bring  back  his  church  once  more  to  the  condition  in 
which  all  the  bishops  shall  be  on  the  same  level,  as  it  was  before  the 
gift  of  Constantine,  it  is  evident  thaif  he  can  give  others  besides  the 
pope  and  the  cardinals  to  be  true  successors  of  the  apostles,  so  as 
to  serve  the  church  as  the  apostles  served  it."  i  He  cannot  agree  with 
those  who  required  an  unconditional  obedience  to  the  popes  and  pre- 
lates, in  relation  to  things  indifferent.  "  Reason  —  he  says  —  must 
be  man's  guide  not  only  in  regard  to  that  which  is  good  in  itself,  but 
likewise  to  things  indifferent.  As  regards  that  which  is  good  in  itself, 
should  a  prelate  bid  his  subject  give  alms  while  he  left  his  sons  to 
famish,  or  impose  a  fast  on  him  which  he  could  not  endure,  or  bid  him 
make  many  prayers,  for  confessors  are  wont  to  prescribe  such  oppres- 
sive things  —  certainly  in  such  matters  not  even  the  pope  is  to  be 
obeyed  ;  since  a  father  is  more  bound  to  support  his  sons  than  to  give 
alms  to  others ;  and  he  is  not  bound  to  take  upon  himself  an  in- 
tolerable burden.  And  the  same  holds  good  also  of  things  indifferent. 
For,  should  a  pope  command  me  to  play  on  a  flute,  to  build  towers,  to 
cut  out  clothes,  or  to  weave,  must  not  my  reason  decide  for  me,  that 
the  pope  lays  on  me  a  senseless  command  ?  Wherefore  should  I  not 
place  my  own  thought  before  the  pope's  dictum  ?  Nay,  should  he 
with  all  the  doctors  lay  on  me  any  such  command,  reason  would  still 
decide,  that  their  command  was  a  senseless  one.  If  the  pope  of  his 
own  motion  determined  to  confer  a  bishopric  on  one  whose  vicious  life 
and  ignorance  in  the  language  of  the  community  whom  he  had  to 
guide,  disqualified  him  for  the  duty,  even  with  the  command  that  he 
should  accept  of  such  a  charge,  would  the  man  be  obliged  to  obey  him 
in  this  ?  It  is  clear  that  he  is  by  no  means  obliged  to  do  so.  Neither 
would  the  people  be  obliged  to  accept  such  a  person ;  for  they  would 
not  even  make  one  a  tender  of  swine  or  of  goats,  who  was  not  quali- 
fied to  take  charge  of  such  animals."  And  he  lays  it  down  as  a  prin- 
ciple, that  the  true  disciples  of  Christ  must  look  at  the  primitive 
pattern  of  Christ  himself,  and  so  far  hearken  to  the  prelates,  as  he 
prescribed  to  his  flock  the  law  of  Christ,  that  which  was  conformable 
to  reason  and  tended  to  edification.  In  relation  to  things  indifferent 
he  remarks :  to  what  a  condition  of  slavish  servility  would  Christians 
be  degraded  by  such  a  principle ;  to  what  abuse,  intolerable  to  Christ- 
ian men,  would  such  a  principle  be  liable.  The  pope  in  such  case 
might  order  that  no  Christian  should  do  anything  in  the  whole  range 
of  things  indifferent,  which  he  might  not  approve ;  and  so  he  might 
commission  his  satraps  to  cite  any  man  whom  they  pleased  and  make 
him  responsible  to  their  tribunal ;  and  thus  might  they  torment  the 
people  after  their  own  good  pleasure,  and  practise  extortions  upon 

1  Ibid. 
2ti* 


800  HISTORY   OP   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

them,  as  they  have  done  by  their  absolutions,  reservations,  and  dis- 
pensations. And  it  may  be  believed  they  would  do  it  more,  did  they 
not  fear  that  the  people,  seeing  through  their  trick,  would  rise  up  in 
rebellion  against  them.  "  For  —  says  he  —  already  God  gives  light 
to  the  people,  that  they  may  not  be  led  astray  from  the  ways  of. 
Christ.''''1  The  pain  which  Huss  felt  in  contemplating  the  worldliness 
of  the  church,  his  earnest  longing  for  its  purification,  express  them- 
selves in  these  words  of  a  prayer  to  Christ :  "  Almighty  Lord,  thou 
who  art  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life,  thou  knowest  how  few,  in 
these  times,  walk  in  thee,  how  few  follow  after  thee,  as  the  head,  in 
humility,  poverty,  chastity,  labor,  and  patience  !  Broad  and  open  lies 
the  way  of  Satan,  and  many  walk  therein.  Help  thy  little  flock,  that 
they  may  never  forsake  thee,  but  follow  on  .through  the  narrow  path, 
even  unto  thyself."  2  To  this  worldly  spirit,  Huss,  too,  with  others, 
attributes  the  long,  wearisome  schism  of  the  church  in  those  days. 
"  As  to  the  question  —  says  he  —  whence  this  devilish  schism  has 
arisen,  the  very  blind  may  know,  that  it  sprung  out  of  the  worldly 
dowry  of  the  church."3  Conceiving  the  unity, of  the  church  in  the 
more  free  and  spiritual  manner  we  have  described,  Huss  was  pre- 
pared also  to  understand  more  clearly  the  multifarious  ways  of  appro- 
priating Christianity,  determined  by  the  various  peculiarities  of  indivi- 
dual character,  and  it  is  a  fine  remark  which  he  makes  on  this  subject 
when  he  says :  "  Some  love  Christ  more  in  reference  to  his  divinity, 
as  we  suppose  to  be  the  case  with  the  evangelist  John ;  others,  more 
in  reference  to  liis  humanity,  as  is  thought  to  be  true  of  Philip ;  others, 
more  in  reference  to  his  body  which  is  the  church,  and  so  in  many 
other  relations."  *  Here,  then,  we  find  characterized  three  rpoirot 
iraiheia<i  three  different  bents  of  Christian  experience  ;  —  the  predomi- 
nant tendency  to  the  godlike  in  Christ,  the  predominant  bent  to  the 
human,  and  to  his  revelation  in  the  church.  Huss,  in  a  conference  with 
Paletz,  had  recpiired  a  proof  from  Holy  Scripture  in  support  of  some- 
thing the  latter  had  asserted.  Paletz  and  his  associates  seized  upon 
this  to  bring  home  against  him  the  charge,  that  he  recognized  merely 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  but  not  God,  nor  the  apostles,  nor  holy  teachers, 
nor  the  universal  church,  as  judge  in  the  final  appeal.  To  this  accu- 
sation Huss  replies :  "  One  thing  Paletz  must  assuredly  know,  that  in 
the  matter  of  faith  we  agree  neither  with  him,  nor  with  any  of  his 
adherents,  except  so  far  as  they  can  sustain  themselves  on  the  founda- 
tion of  Sacred  Scripture  or  on  reason." 5  Huss,  who  showed  his 
Christian  freedom  in  this,  that  he  felt  bound  to  follow  the  Divine  Word 
and  reason  independent  of  all  other  authority,  and  in  opposition  to  all 
other,  and  who  for  this  reason  was  accused  of  pride  by  those  who  stood 
up   for  a  servile  obedience  to    church  authority,  was,  however,  very 

1  Jam  enim  deus  populum  illuminat,  ne  ta  est  via  Satanae,  multi  vadunt  per  earn, 
seducatur  a  viis  Christi.     Ibid.  fol.  245,  2.  adjuva  pusillum  gregem  tuum,  ut  non  te 

2  Omnipotens  domine,  qui  es  via,  veri-  deserat,  sed  per  viam  angustiae  finaliter 
tas  et  vita,  tu  nosti,  quam  pauci  in  te  am-  te  sequatur.     Ibid.  fol.  206 

bulant  istis  temporibus,  pauci  te  caput  3  Ibid.  fol.  230,  2. 
suum  in  humilitate,  paupertate,  castitate,  4  Ibid.  fol.  212,  2. 
laboriositate  et  patientia  imitantur.    Aper-        5  Ibid.  fol.  227,  I. 


HUSS   AGAINST   STANISLAUS    OF  ZNAIM.  307 

far  from  being  inclined  to  persist  obstinately  in  holding  an  opinion 
which  he  had  once  expressed.  He  says  :  "  Often  have  I  allowed  myself 
to  be  set  right  even  by  one  of  my  own  scholars,  when  I  saw  that  the 
reasons  were  good,  and  I  felt  bound  to  thank  him  for  the  correction."  ' 

In  this  work  we  find  laid  down  the  four  principles  of  reform  which 
constitute  the  soul  of  the  whole  movement  that  proceeded  from  Huss  ;  the 
germ  and  beginning  of  the  four  articles  subsequently  held  fast  by  the 
more  moderate  portion  of  the  Hussite  party.  To  wit  :  in  opposition  to 
the  charge  that  the  people  were  led  astray  by  his  party,  he  says  — 
1.  It  was  their  endeavor  rather  to  make  the  christian  people  one  ;  to 
bring  them  into  a  harmonious  unity  by  the  law  of  Christ ;  2.  That  anti- 
christian  ordinances  should  not  delude  the  people,  which  could  not  divide 
them  from  Christ ;  but  that  the  law  of  Christ  in  its  purity  should  rule, 
together  with  the  customs  of  the  people  which  harmonized  with  the  law 
of  the  Lord  ;  3.  That  the  clergy  should  live  pure,  according  to  the 
law  of  Christ  ;  should  banish  pomp,  cupidity,  and  luxury  ;  4.  That 
the  militant  church  should  consist  of  the  orders  instituted  by  our  Lord, 
namely,  the  priests  of  Christ,  who  faithfully  fulfilled  his  law,  the  secu- 
lar nobles,  who  should  compel  the  rest  to  observe  christian  ordinances, 
and  the  lower  class  of  people,  who  should  serve  both  orders  according 
to  the  law  of  Christ.2 

We  would  join,  with  what  we  have  taken  from  the  book  of  Huss  on 
the  church,  what  he  said  akin  to  this  in  the  tract  already  mentioned  as 
having  been  composed  about  this  time  and  directed  against  Stanislaus 
of  Znaim.  Had  he  affirmed  that  a  bad  pope,  who  was  a  reprobate,  could 
not  be  head  of  the  church,  his  adversaries  who  were  glad  of  a  chance 
to  carry  spiritual  matters  over  into  politics,  hoping  thus  to  make  the 
doctrines  of  Huss  appear  the  more  dangerous  to  secular  authority, 
would  have  argued  from  it  that  the  king  of  Bohemia  then,  if  he  were  a 
praescitus,  could  not  be  king.  And  so  Huss  would  have  been  held  up 
to  view  as  the  representative  of  a  radical  and  revolutionary  party.  But 
Huss  uniformly  declared  himself  opposed  to  this  method  of  carrying  the 
subject  over  into  a  wholly  different  province.  Christ,  he  said,  was  the 
head  in  spiritual  things,  and  governed  the  church  in  a  far  more  neces- 
sary way  than  the  emperor  who  was  head  in  temporal  things.  For 
Christ,  who  is  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  must  necessarily 
govern  the  militant  church  as  its  head.3  Against  the  necessity  of  a 
visible  head,  Huss  cited  the  papal  female  reign  of  the  tenth  century, 
the  time  of  the  vacancy  in  the  papal  chair.4  Christ  can  better  govern 
his  church,  says  he,  by  his  true  disciples  scattered  through  all  the  world, 
without  such  monsters  of  supreme  heads.5  The  theological  faculty  had 
called  the  pope  the  secure,  never-failing  and  all-sufficient  refuge  for  his 
church.  Against  this  Huss  says  :  No  created  being  can  hold  this 
place.     This  language  can  be  applied  only  to  Christ.    He  alone  is  the 

1  Sicut  milii  frequentius  accidcrat,  dum        3  Rcsp.  ad    scr.  Stanislai,  opp.    I,  fol. 
mandavi  et  doctos  de  mcliori  etiara  gra      277,  1. 

tanter  informationem  suscipiens  discipulo        4  U>id. 

obedivi.     Ibid.  fol.  247.  1.  5  Ibid.  fol.  277,  2. 

2  Ibid.  fol.  231,  I. 


308  HISTORY   OF   TIIEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

secure,  unfailing,  and  all-sufficient  refuge  for  his  church,  to  guide  and 
enlighten  it.  And  he  appeals  to  the  words  of  Christ,  Without  nie  ye 
can  do  nothing  (John  15:  5).1  What  sound  views  he  entertained  of  the 
progressive  advance  of  the  church  as  a  necessarily  free  progression,  is 
evidenced  by  these  words :  "  It  injures  not  the  church,  but  benefits  it, 
that  Christ  is  no  longer  present  to  it  after  a  visible  manner  ;  since  he 
himself  says  to  his  disciples  and  therefore  to  all  their  successors  (John 
16:  7),  It  is  good  for  you  that  I  go  away,  for  if  I  went  not  away,  the 
Comforter  would  not  come  to  you ;  but  if  I  go,  I  will  send  him  unto 
you."  It  is  evident  from  this,  as  the  truth  itself  testifies,  that  it  was  a 
salutary  thing  for  the  church  militant  that  Christ  should  ascend  from  it 
to  heaven,  that  so  his  longer  protracted  bodily  and  visible  presence  on 
earth  might  not  be  prejudicial  to  her .2  Accordingly  he  concludes  that 
the  church  is  sufficiently  provided  for  in  the  invisible  guidance,  and 
should  need  no  visible  one  by  which  she  might  be  made  dependant. 
Suppose  then  that  the  pope  who  walks  visibly  among  men,  were  as  good 
a  teacher  as  that  promised  Spirit  of  truth,  for  which  one  need  not  to 
run  to  Rome  or  Jerusalem,  since  he  is  everywhere  present,  in  that  he 
fills  the  world.  Suppose  also  that  the  pope  were  as  secure,  unfailing, 
and  all-sufficient  a  refuge  for  all  the  sons  of  the  church  as  that  Holy 
Spirit,  it  would  follow  that  you  supposed  a  fourth  person  in  the  divine 
Trinity  .3  Huss  sees  clearly  how  the  mistaken  endeavor  to  secure  unity 
to  the  church  by  externalization,  by  making  it  dependant  on  a  visible 
head,  instead  of  operating  as  was  intended  to  prevent  heresies  and  di- 
visions, provoked  the  contrary  and  multiplied  them.  "  For  —  says  he 
—  it  is  evident  that  the  greatest  errors  and  the  greatest  divisions  have 
arisen  by  occasion  of  this  head  of  the  church,  and  that  they  have  gone 
on  multiplying  to  this  day.  For  before  such  a  head  had  been  instituted 
by  the  emperor,  the  church  was  constantly  adding  to  her  virtues  ;  but 
after  the  appointment  of  such  a  head,  the  evils  have  continually  mount- 
ed higher  ;  and  there  will  be  no  end  to  all  this,  until  this  head,  with 
its  body,  be  brought  back  to  the  rule  of  the  apostles."  It  was  not  Sara- 
cens, Greeks,  and  Jews  alone  that  took  umbrage  at  this  ;  but  since  the 
schism  between  the  popes,  there  had  sprung  up  such  divisions  among 
the  people,  that  few  were  to  be  found  who  agreed  together  in  their 
walk  according  to  the  law  of  Christ.  All  true  unity  must  have 
its  foundation  in  Christ.4  When  the  opponents  of  Huss,  following 
the  fashion  of  their  age,  resorted  to  a  very  arbitrary  system  of  so- 
called  philosophy  and  false  analogies  drawn  from  the  organism  of  the 
body,  to  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  such  an  organism  as  that  of  the 
existing  hierarchy,  confounding  together,  as  was  so  common  in  those 

1  Ibid.  et  indeficiens.  sed  omnino  suffieiens,  refu- 

2  Ibid.  fol.  269,  1.  gium  omnibus  filiis  ecclesiae,  sicut  est  iste 

3  Ponat  ergo  doctor  papam  conversan-  spiritus  sanctus,  et  dicam,  quod  posuit 
tem  in  humanis  ita  bonum  doctorem,  sicut  quartam  personam  in  divinis.  Ibid,  fol 
bonus  doctor  est  iste  promissus   spiritus  283,  1. 

veritatis,  ad  quern  non  est  necesse  Hieru-        4  Omnem  vero   concordiam   veram   et 

sakm  vel  Romam  currere,  cum  sit  ubique  sanctam  in  militante  ecclesia  oportet  esse 

praesens,  replens  orbem  terrarum.     Ponat  in  Christo  domino  stabilitam.     Ibid,  fol. 

etiam  doctor  papam  ita  securum,  certum  279,  1. 


HUSS   AGAINST   STANISLAUS    OF  ZNAIM.  309 

times,  philosophy  and  theology  in  a  way  equally  injurious  to  both,  Huss 
might  justly  accuse  them  of  unwarrantably  mixing  up  wordly  wisdom 
with  revealed  truth,  and  substituting  the  water  of  a  cistern  for  that  of 
the  living  spring.1  Of  the  only  necessary  and  truly  uninterrupted 
agency,  in  the  church,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Huss  says :  "  This  Spirit,  in 
the  absense  of  a  visible  pope,  inspired  prophets  to  predict  the  future 
bridegroom  of  the  church,  strengthened  the  apostles  to  spread  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  through  all  the  world,  led  idolaters  to  the  worship  of  one 
only  God,  and  ceases  not,  even  until  now,  to  instruct  the  bride  and  all 
her  sons,  to  make  them  certain  of  all  things  and  guide  them  in  all  things 
that  are  necessary  for  salvation."'2  To  show  that  the  church  may  be 
governed  best  by  organs  ordained  and  guided  by  Christ,  he  says  :  "  As 
the  apostles  and  the  priests  of  Christ  ably  conducted  the  affairs  of  the 
church  in  all  things  necessary  to  salvation,  before  the  office  of  pope  had 
yet  been  introduced,  so  they  will  do  it  again  if  it  should  happen,  as  it 
is  quite  possible  it  may,  that  no  pope  should  exist,  until  the  day  of  judg- 
ment ;  for  Christ  is  able  to  govern  his  church,  after  the  best  manner,  by 
his  faithful  presbyters,  without  a  pope."3  So  in  pointing  out  the  con- 
trast between  pious  priests  and  the  cardinals,  he  says  :  "  The  cardinals, 
occupied  with  worldly  business,  cannot  teach  and  guide,  by  sermons,  in 
the  articles  of  faith  and  the  precepts  of  the  Lord,  the  members  of  the 
universal  church  and  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  the  poor  and  lowly 
priests  of  Christ,  who  have  put  away  out  of  their  hearts  all  ambition, 
and  all  ungodliness  of  the  world,  being  themselves  guided  by  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  teach  and  guide  the  sons  of  the  church, 
quickened  by  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  give  them  certainty  in 
the  articles  of  faith  and  the  precepts  necessary  to  salvation."  4  He 
shows  how  the  church  has  all  that  it  needs  in  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  ought  to  require  nothing  else  ;  nothing  else  can  be  a  sub- 
stitute for  that.  Stanislaus  of  Znaim  had  affirmed  that  the  church 
could  not  have  been  left  by  Christ  without  a  visible  head,  for  it  would 
be  leaving  her  in  a  condition  of  too  great  embarrassment.  Huss  re- 
plies :  "  Far  be  it  from  our  hearts  ever  to  utter  a  sentiment  so  hereti- 
cal as  this.  For  it  directly  contradicts  the  declarations  of  the  gospels. 
How  can  the  church  be  embarrassed,  when  she  has  the  bridegroom  with 
her  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  when  she  has  a  sure  consolation  and  an 
infallible  promise,  the  promise  of  Christ's  own  word,  that  if  we  ask  the 
Father  anything  in  Ms  name,  he  will  give  it  us  ?  And,  Whatever  ye 
ask  of  the  Bridegroom,  he  will  do.     From  no  pope  can  she  obtain  this."  5 

1  Quis  non  conciperet  ratione  discutiens,  ejus  filios  informare,  certificare  ac  dirigere 

quod  hoc  est  cisternam  extraneam,  prae-  in  necessariis  ad  salutem.  Ibid.  fol.  283, 1. 

ter  aquam    Christi   fodere,   philosophiam  3    Sicut   apostoli   et   tideles   sacerdotes 

fallaciter  cum  scriptura  sacra  commiscere  ?  domini  strenue  in  necessariis  ad  salutem 

Ibid.  f'ol.  279,  2.  regularunt  ecclesiam,  antequam  papae  of- 

8  Ille  ergo  spiritus,  nullo  papa  conver-  ficium  fuerat  introductum,  sic  facerent,  de- 

sante    in    humanis  visibilitcr,    prophetas  ficiente  per  summe  possibile  papa,  usque 

aspiravit,  ut  sponsum  futurum  ecclesiae  ad  diem  judicii ;  cum  ipse  Christus  potest 

praecinerent,     apostolos     confortavit,     ut  suam   ecclesiam   optime  per  suos  fideles 

Christi   evangelium   per    mundum   vehe-  presbyteros  regere   sine   papa.    Ibid.  fol. 

rent,   idolatras    ad    cultum    rcvocavit,  et  283, 2, 

nunc  non  deficit  ipsam  sponsam  et  omnes  4  Ibid.                         *  Ibid. 


310  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY  AND   DOCTRINE. 

Huss  says  of  himself :  "  Relying  on  Christ,  that  Witness  whom  no  mul- 
titude of  witnesses  can  draw  away  from  the  truth,  whom  the  Roman 
court  cannot  terrify,  whom  no  gift  can  corrupt  and  no  power  overcome, 
I  will  confess  the  gospel  truth,  so  long  as  he  himself  gives  me  grace  to 
do  so."  '     In  the  time  of  those  earlier  proceedings  for  the  restoration 
of  concord,  Huss  expressed,  in  letters  addressed  to  his  friends  in  Prague, 
his  high  assurance  of  faith,  his  firm  resolution  never  to  give  up  a  par- 
ticle of  the  truth,  never  to  purchase  peace  and  quiet  by  any  denial  of 
the  truth.     We  find  him  already  with  a  mind  fully  made  up  to  die 
rather  than  to  swerve  from  strict  integrity  and  an  honest  avowal  of  his 
convictions.   So  he  writes  to  a  friend,  Master  Christann  of  Prachatic,  rec- 
tor of  Prague  university :  "As  to  the  advice  of  the  faculty,  with  Christ's 
help,  I  would  not  receive  it,  if  I  stood  before  a  stake,  which  was  ready 
prepared  for  my  execution  ;  and  I  hope  that  death  will  sooner  remove 
me  or  the  two  who  have  deserted  the  truth  (Stephen  Paletz  and  Stan- 
islaus of  Znaim),  either  to  heaven  or  to  hell,  than  I  shall  be  induced 
to  adopt  their  opinions.     For  I  knew  them  both  as  men  who,  in  earlier 
times,  truly  confessed  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ ;  but,  overcome  by  fear, 
they  have  turned  to  flattering  the  pope,  and  to  lies."  "  If —  he  writes 
—  I  cannot  make  the  truth  free  in  all,  I  will  at  least  not  be  an  enemy 
to  the  truth,  and  will  resist  to  the  death  all  agreement  with  falsehood. 
Let  the  world  flow  on  as  the  Lord  permits  it  to  flow !     A  good  death 
is  better  than  a  bad  life.    One  ought  never  to  sin  through  fear  of  death. 
To  end  this  life,  by  God's  grace,  is  to  pass  out  of  misery.     The  more 
knowledge  of  truth  one  gains,  the  harder  he  has  to  work.     He  who 
speaks    the    truth,    breaks    his    own    neck.     He    who   fears    death, 
loses  the  joy  of  living.     Truth  triumphs  over  all ;  he  triumphs  who 
dies  for  the  truth ;    for  no  calamity  can  touch  him,  if  no   sin  has 
dominion  over  him  !    Blessed  are  ye  when  men  curse  you,  says  the 
Truth.    This  is  the  foundation  on  which  I  build  ;  this  is  the  food  for  my 
spirit,  recruiting  it  with  fresh  vigor  to  contend  against  all  adversaries 
of  the  truth."     Alluding  to  the  deliberations  then  in  progress  about 
the  course  which  ought  to  be  pursued  in  order  to  clear  the  kingdom 
from  the  reproach  of  heresy,  Huss  in  a  letter  to  the  same  person  re- 
marks :  "  As  to  the  disgrace  of  the  king  and  the  realm,  of  what  harm 
is  it,  if  the  king  is  good,  and  some  at  least  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
realm  are  good  ?    Christ  passed  through  the  greatest  reproach  together 
with  his  chosen,  to  whom  he  said  (John  16:  2.  Matt.  10:  21,  22),  Ye 
shall  be  delivered  up  by  your  parents  and  kinsmen ;  which  is  more  than 
to  be  reproached  by  Stanislaus  or  Paletz."  9 

With  this  rector  of  Prague  university,  Huss  kept  up  a  correspond- 
ence from  Kozi.  The  same  person  had  written  him  a  letter  of  consola- 
tion, placing  before  him  several  passages  of  Scripture  which  speak  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  righteous,  such  as  2  Tim.  3: 12,  and  reasoning  from 

1  Unde  de   isto  teste  confidens,  quem  diu  ipse  donaverit,  confitebor.     Ibid.  fol. 

nulla  multitudo  testium   potest  a  veritate  287,  2. 

flectere,  nee  Romana  curia  exterrere,  nee        2  Extracts  from  these  as  yet  unpublish- 

aliquod  munus  curvare,  nee  aliqua  poten-  ed  letters  in  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  297  and 

tia  vincere,  veritatera  evangelicara,  quam-  298,  note. 


LETTERS  OF  HUSS  IN  EXILE.  311 

them  that  he  should  not  allow  himself  to  be  troubled  by  his  temporal 
afflictions  and  separation  from  his  friends,  but  rejoice  over  all.  "'Very 
thankfully,  answers  Huss,  do  I  accept  this  consolation,  while  I  fasten 
on  those  passages  of  Scripture  and  rely  on  this,  that  if  I  am  a  righteous 
man,  nothing  can  trouble  me  or  induce  me  to  swerve  from  the  truth. 
And  if  I  live  and  will  live  devoutly  in  Christ,  then  in  the  name  of  Christ 
must  I  suffer  persecutions  ;  for  if  it  became  Christ  to  suffer  and  so  enter 
into  his  glory,  it  surely  becomes  us,  poor  creatures,  to  take  up  the  cross 
and  so  follow  him  in  his  sufferings.  And  I  assure  you  that  persecution 
would  never  trouble  me,  if  my  sins  and  the  corruption  of  christian  peo- 
ple did  not  trouble  me.  For  what  harm  could  it  do  me  to  lose  the  riches 
of  this  world,  which  are  but  dross  ?  What  harm,  to  lose  the  favor  of 
the  world,  which  might  lead  me  astray  from  the  way  of  Christ  ?  What 
harm,  to  suffer  reproach,  which,  if  borne  with  patience,  purifies  and 
transfigures  the  children  of  God,  so  that  they  shine  like  the  sun,  in  the 
kingdom  of  their  Father  ?  And  finally,  what  harm,  to  have  my  poor 
life  taken  from  me,  which  is  death  ;  if  he  who  loses  this,  lays  death 
aside,  and  finds  the  true  life  ?  But  this  is  what  they  cannot  compre- 
hend, who  "are  blinded  by  pomp,  honor,  and  avarice,  and  by  whom 
some  have  been  seduced  from  the  truth  through  fear,  where  nothing 
was  to  be  feared."  "  As  to  my  body  —  says  he  —  that  I  hope,  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  if  mercy  bestow  the  strength  on  me,  to  offer  up, 
since  I  desire  not  to  live  longer  in  this  miserable  world,  if  I  cannot 
stir  up  myself  and  others,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  to  repentance. 
This  I  wish  for  you  also ;  and  I  exhort  you,  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
with  all  the  companions  of  your  board,  that  you  be  ready  for  the  trial; 
for  the  prelude  of  Antichrist  must  begin  first,  and  then  the  contest  will 
go'  on  in  right  good  earnest.  And  the  goose  must  flap  her  wings  against 
the  wings  of  behemoth,  and  against  the  tail  which  always  conceals  the 
abominations  of  Antichrist.  The  Lord  will  reduce  the  tail  and  his  prophets 
to  nothing,  i.  e.  the  pope  and  his  prophets,  the  masters,  teachers,  and  ju- 
rists, who,  under  the  hypocritical  name  of  holiness,  conceal  the  abomi- 
nations of  the  beast."  He  then  adverts  to  it,  that  the  papacy  is  the 
abomination  of  self -deification  in  the  holy  place,  as  the  papacy  made 
traffic  of  spiritual  things.  "  Wo  then  is  me  —  he  writes  —  if  I  do  not 
preach  of  that  abomination,  if  I  do  not  weep  over  it,  write  about  it."  J 
It  was  a  great  grief  to  Huss  to  be  obliged  to  leave  the  scene  of  the  con- 
flict, and  suspend  his  labors  for  his  beloved  community  in  Bethlehem 
chapel.  He  had  a  severe  struggle  with  himself,  his  most  earnest  wishes 
calling  him  back  to  his  flock,  while  on  the  other  hand  imperative  rea- 
sons bade  him  to  remain  concealed  a  while,  that  the  best  interests  of  this 
community  might  be  promoted.  He  considered  it  of  prime  importance 
here  to  make  the  words  and  the  example  of  Christ  his  rule  of  action. 
To  this  a  great  deal  relates,  in  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  com- 
munity or  to  his  fellow  combatants  among  the  clergy,  whose  opinion  he 
consults  on  this  subject.2     In  a  letter  to  two  clergymen,  he  writes  : 

1  Hus  opp.  I,  fol.  94,  1  et  2.  de  Miliczin,  opp.  I,  fol.  93,  2  and  fol.  94, 1. 

*  Ep.  ad  Mag.  Martinum  et  Mag.  Nicol. 


£12  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

"  Having  an  earnest  desire  to  preach  the  gospel,  I  am .  troubled, 
since. I  know  not  what  I  ouu;ht  to  do.  I  have,  indeed,  pondered  in  my 
soul  those  words  of  our  Lord  (John  10:  11, 12),  A  good  shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep.  But  he.  that  is  an  hireling,  and  not  the  shep- 
herd, whose  own  the  sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming,  and  leaveth 
the  sheep  and  fleeth,  and  the  wolf  catcheth  the"in  and  scattereth  the 
sheep."  And  then  he  says  :  "  But  I  have  thought  also  of  the  words 
of  our  Lord  (Matt.  10  :  23),  But  when  they  persecute  you  in  one  city, 
flee  ye  into  another.  Behold  the  precept  or  promise  of  Christ :  I  know 
not  which  of  these  two  opposite  things  I  ought  to  do."  He  then  cites 
a  letter  of  Augustin,  written  during  the  persecutions  of  the  Vandals, 
and  addressed  to  Honoratus,  a  clergyman,  who  had  asked  his  advice 
as  to  the  course  of  duty.  "  Give  me,  then,  your  opinion.  Could  you 
rest  satisfied  with  the  advice  of  Augustin  ?  For  my  conscience  troubles 
me.  I  know  not  but  my  absence  may  give  scandal,  though  the  sheep 
do  not  want  for  needful  nourishment  from  the  divine  word.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  encounter  the  fear  lest  my  presence  should,  through  that 
execrable  device  of  an  interdict,  be  laid  hold  of  as  a  pretext  for  de- 
priving them  of  their  nourishment,  namely  the  communion,  and  other 
things  ministrant  to  salvation.  Therefore  let  us  humbly  beg  that  the 
Almignty  God  would  teach  us  what  I,  a  poor  creature,  ought  to  do  in 
this  present  case,  so  as  not  to  swerve  from  the  path  of  uprightness." 
Accordingly  he  writes,  just  before  the  Christmas  festival  of  1413,  to  his 
Bethlehem  congregation  :  "  Dearly  beloved  —  the  day  of  our  Lord's 
nativity  draws  near  ;  therefore  make  clean  the  inner  house,  that  it  be 
pure  from  all  sin.  So  far  as  you  are  able,  hear  diligently  and  devoutly 
the  word  of  God.  Care  not  for  those  enemies  who  would  keep  you 
from  hearing  the  sermons  in  Bethlehem  chapel.  Once  I  myself  was 
the  reason  why  they  endeavored  to  draw  you  away  from  that  house. 
Now  they  have  no  such  reason.  But  if  they  say,  I  have  run  away 
and  left  you  ;  be  assured  that  I  did  it  voluntarily,  to  fulfil  the  word  of 
Christ  and  in  imitation  of  his  example,  who  says,  Whosoever  shall  not 
receive  you,  nor  hear  your  words,  when  ye  depart  out  of  that  house  or 
city,  shake  off  the  dust  of  your  feet  (Matt.  10:  14  and  10:  23),"  and 
he  adverts  to  the  fact  that  Christ  often,  when  the  Jews  would  have 
killed  him,  escaped  from  their  hands  (John  10:  39.  11:  54  ff.).  "  It  is 
no  wonder  therefore  —  he  proceeds  —  that,  in  imitation  of  his  example, 
I  have  withdrawn  myself,  for  the  present  ;  and  that  the  priests  seek 
for  me  and  ask  where  I  am.  Know  then  that  I,  led  by  this  exhorta- 
tion of  Christ  and  by  his  example,  have  withdrawn  myself,  that  I  may 
not  prove  to  the  wicked  an  occasion  of  everlasting  damnation  ;  and  to 
the  good,  cause  of  oppression  and  trouble  :  and  then  again,  that  the 
godless  priests  may  not  wholly  prevent  the  preaching  of  the  divine  word. 
I  have  not  yielded,  therefore,  with  any  intention  that  divine  truih 
should  be  denied,  through  me,  for  which  truth  I  hope,  with  God's  helj), 
to  die.  In  the  next  place,  you  know  that  it  became  Christ,  as  he  him- 
self says,  to  suffer  until  the  time  appointed  by  the  Father.  Of  this,  then, 
be  well  assured,  that  whatever  God  has  determined  to  do  with  me,  will 
be  done.    And  if  I  am  worthy  to  die  for  his  name,  he  will  call  to  me 


LETTERS  OF  HUSS  IN  EXILE.  313 

suffering.  But  if  it  be  his  pleasure  to  draw  me  forth,  once  more,  to  the 
preaching  of  his  word,  this  depends  upon  his  own  will."  He  then  ob- 
serves that  "  it  was  no  doubt  the  wish  of  many  priests  in  Prague  that 
he  should  return  thither ;  for  the  interdict  would  then  supply  them 
with  an  excuse  for  their  indolence  :  no  masses  would  have-  to  be  read, 
no  hours  to  be  sung  ;  but  all  such  were  enemies  to  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  because  their  vices  were  exposed  thereby  to  the  light.  Never- 
theless you,  he  adds,  who  love  God's  word  and  strive  to  become  one 
with  it,  would  be  glad  to  see  me  because  you  love  me  as  your  neighbor. 
I  too  would  be  glad  once  more  to  see  you,  that  I  might  preach  to  you 
God's  word  ;  for  this  must  ever  be  the  great  and  especial  concern  of 
the  ministers  of  the  church,  to  preach  to  the  people  the  gospel  of  Christ 
in  its  purity  and  with  fruit,  so  that  the  people  may  know  God's  will, 
avoid  the  bad  and  be  led  in  the  good  way  of  a  just  and  virtuous  life. 
Wo  therefore  to  the  priests  who  neglect  God's  word,  who  lead  lives  of 
indolent  repose  when  they  might  be  preaching  it.  And  wo  to  those  who 
hinder  the  preaching  and  the  hearing  of  the  divine  word.  But  blessed 
are  they  who  hear  it  and  treasure  it  up  in  their  hearts,  and  by  good 
works  observe  it."1  On  the  festival  of  Christmas,  he  wrote  to  that 
community  :  "  Though  I  am  at  present  separated  from  you  in  the 
body,  because  perhaps  I  am  not  worthy  to  preach  to  you  any  longer 
the  word  of  God ;  yet  the  love  with  which  I  infold  you,  impels  me  to 
come,  in  the  way  at  least  of  addressing  you  a  few  words."  The  few- 
words  were  to  this  effect :  that  what,  in  other  circumstances,  he  would 
have  said  to  them  from  the  pulpit,  was  briefly  summed  up  in  this  let- 
ter ;  that  they  should  lay  to  heart  the  significance  of  the  festival  ;  that 
he  wished  them  the  heavenly  blessings  secured  to  the  faithful  by  the 
event  which  this  festival  commemorated.2  In  another  letter  to  the  same 
community,  he  applies  to  himself  the  words  of  Paul  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Philippians  (1:  23)  :  "  I  say  to  you,  my  beloved,  though  I  am  not  in 
prison,  yet  I  would  gladly,  for  Christ's  sake,  die  and  be  with  him  ; 
and  yet  I  would  gladly  too,  for  your  good,  preach  to  you  God's  word  ; 
but  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  and  know  not  which  to  choose.  For 
I  await  God's  mercy,  and  I  fear  again  lest  something  bad  be  done 
among  you,  so  as  to  expose  the  faithful  to  persecution  and  the  unbe- 
lieving to  eternal  death."  He  says  of  his  enemies  :  "  They  at  present 
rejoice,  and  wish  that  not  only  in  me  the  word  of  God  may  perish,  but 
also  that  Bethlehem  church,  where  I  preached  to  you  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  may  be  closed.  But  without  God's  permission  they  will  ac- 
complish nothing  ;  if  however  he  permits  it,  it  will  be  done  on  account 
of  the  sins  of  unthankful  men  ;  as  Bethlehem  wher?  he  was  born,  and 
Jerusalem  where  he  redeemed  us,  were  utterly  destroyed."  3  Although 
a  presentiment  of  the  death  which  might  befal  him  in  contending  for  the 
truth  had  long  been  on  his  mind,  yet  he  had  at  the  same  time  a  prophetic 
consciousness  that,  though  his  person  might  perish,  the  truth  would  come 
forth  triumphant  out  of  the  contest,  and  would  by  other  instrumentalities 
be  still  more  powerfully  attested.    We  may  look  upon  such  utterances  of 

1  Ibid.  fol.  98,  2  and  fol.  99,  1.  3  Ibid.  fol.  97, 1. 

*  Ibid.  fol.  99,  1  and  2. 
VOL.  V.  27 


314  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

Huss,  -which  we  shall  occasionally  come  across,  as  a  prophecy  of  the  Ger- 
man Reformation,  though  Huss  was  really  thinking  of  that  which  was  pres- 
ently to  take  place  on  the  theatre  of  his  own  past  labors.  Thus  he  writes 
a  letter  to  the  Bethlehem  community,  at  the  time  when  various  attempts 
were  made  to  break  it  up  :  "  They  have  directed  their  attacks  against 
many  churches  and  chapels,  that  the  word  of  God  might  not  be  preached 
in  them.  Yet  Christ  has  not  permitted  them  to  accomplish  their  pur- 
pose. Already,  as  I  hear,  they  are  seeking  the  destruction  of  Bethle- 
hem chapel,  and  in  other  chapels  they  forbid  the  preaching  of  God's 
word.  Yet  I  trust  in  God  that  they  will  accomplish  nothing.  At  first 
they  prepared  snares,  citations,  and  ban  for  the  "  goose,"  and  already 
they  are  lying  in  wait  for  some  of  you.  But  since  the  goose,  a  tame  ani- 
mal, a  domestic  animal,  with  no  wings  to  soar  aloft,  has  broken  through 
their  snares,  we  mag  the  more  confidently  expect  that  other  birds  who, 
bg  the  word  of  God  and  their  lives  do  soar  aloft,  will  turn  their  toils  and 
plottings  to  nought.  And  after  having  remarked  how,  by  the  interdict, 
they  were  seeking  to  suppress  the  worship  and  word  of  God  in  Prague, 
he  adds  :  "  But  the  more  theg  seek  to  conceal  their  own  real  character, 
the  more  openly  it  betrays  itself ;  and  the  more  they  seek  to  spread  out 
their  decrees  like  a  net,  the  more  they  are  rent  in  pieces  ;  and  in  seeking 
to  have  the  peace  of  the  world,  they  lose  that  and  spiritual  peace  at  the 
same  time  ;  in  seeking  to  injure  others,  they  injure  themselves  most. 
It  happened  to  them  as  to  the  priests  of  the  Jews  ;  they  lost  that  which 
they  were  endeavoring  to  secure,  and  fell  into  the  evil  they  were  aim- 
ing to  avoid,  in  fancying  that  they  could  overcome  and  suppress  the 
truth,  which  always  conquers  ;  since  this  is  its  habit  and  nature,  that 
the  more  it  is  obscured  the  more  it  shines  out,  and  the  more  it  is  beat 
down  the  higher  it  rises.  Priests,  scribes,  and  phari sees,  Herod,  Pi- 
late and  the  other  dwellers  in  Jerusalem,  condemned  truth,  and  gave  it 
over  to  death  and  the  grave  ;  but  it  arose  again,  all-conquering,  and 
substituted  in  place  of  itself  twelve  other  heralds.  And  this  same  Truth 
has  sent  to  Prague  instead  of  one  feeble  goose,  many  falcons  and  eagles, 
which  excel  in  sharpness  of  vision  all  other  birds.  These,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  soar  upward,  high  upward,  and  swoop  away  other  birds  to  Jesus 
Christ,  who  will  strengthen  them,  and  confirm  all  his  faithful  ones.  For  he 
declares  I  am  with  you  always,  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  If  He  then  be 
with  us,  the  true  God  and  mightiest,  best  defender,  who,  in  his  malice, 
shall  be  against  us  ?  What  fear  or  what  death  shall  separate  us  from 
Him  ?  What  do  we  lose  when,  for  his  sake,  we  lose  earthly  goods, 
friends,  honors,  and  this  wretched  life  ?  Surely  we  shall  then  first  be 
delivered  from  this  wretchedness,  and  obtain  a  hundred-fold  greater 
possessions,  dearer  friends,  and  a  more  perfect  joy.  Death  shall  not 
deprive  us  of  these  things.  For  he  who  dies  for  Christ  conquers,  and 
will  be  delivered  from  all  sorrows  and  attain  to  that  eternal  joy  to  which 
may  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  bring  us  all.  This  letter  —  he  concludes 
—  dearest  brethren  and  beloved  sisters,  I  have  written  to  the  end 
that  you  might  stand  fast  in  the  truth  you  have  known,  fear  no  cita- 
tions, and  attend  not  a  whit  less  than  you  ever  did,  on  account  of  their 
cruel  threats,  to  the  preaching  of  God's  word.     For  God  is  faithful,  who 


LETTERS  OF  HUSS  IN  EXILE.  315 

will  establish  you  and  preserve  you  from  evil."  Then  follows  a  postscript 
of  requests,  hinting  at  the  labors  to  which  Huss  was  then  devoting  him- 
self in  his  retirement.  "  Pray  for  those  who  preach  God's  truth  with 
grace,  and  pray  also  for  me,  that  I  may  more  richly  write  and  preach 
against  Antichrist,  and  that  God  may  lead  me  in  the  battle,  when  I  am 
driven  to  the  greatest  strait,  that  so  I  may  be  able  to  maintain  his  own 
truth.  For  know,  that  I  shrink  not  from  giving  up  this  poor  body  for 
God's  truth,  when  I  feel  assured  there  is  no  want  of  the  preaching  of 
God's  word,  but  that  daily  the  truth  of  the  gospel  is  more  widely  spread. 
But  I  desire  to  live  for  their  sakes  to  whom  violence  is  done,  and  who 
need  the  preaching  of  God's  word,  that  in  this  way  the  malice  of  Anti- 
christ may  be  discovered  as  a  warning  to  the  pious.  I  preach  there- 
fore in  other  places,  ministering  to  whoever  may  be  found  there  ;  since 
I  know  that  God's  will  is  fulfilled  in  me,  whether  it  be  by  a  death  hung 
over  me  by  Antichrist,  or  whether  I  die  in  sickness.  And  if  I  come  to 
Prague,  I  am  certain  that  my  enemies  will  lie  in  wait  for  me  and  per- 
secute you/ they  who  do  not  serve  God  themselves  and  hinder  others 
from  serving  him.  But  let  us  pray  God  for  them,  if  peradventure 
there  may  be  some  elect  ones  among  them,  that  they  may  be  turned  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth."1  Respecting  the  attempts  to  shut  up  or 
destroy  Bethlehem  chapel,  he  says :  "  They  would  suppress  God's  holy 
word,  tear  down  a  chapel  erected  for  its  service,  and  hinder  the  people 
in  their  salvation."  He  calls  upon  them  to  ponder  well  the  disgrace 
which  would  be  brought  upon  their  country,  their  nation,  their  race  ; 
the  calumny  and  shame  which  would  fall  upon  themselves  without  any' 
fault  of  their  own.  Antichrist  and  the  devil  could  do  them  no  harm,  if 
they  remained  faithful  to  divine  truth.  They  had  now,  for  some  years, 
been  lying  in  wait  for  himself,  and  had  not  (as  he  hoped  in  God)  hurt 
a  hair  of  his  head,  but  only  occasioned  him  greater  cheerfulness  and 
hilarity.  Great  pains  would  be  taken  to  induce  them  to  abjure  the  er- 
rors imputed  to  them.  Huss  warns  them  that,  by  so  doing,  they  would 
either  deny  the  truth,  or  wrongly  accuse  themselves  of  errors  which 
they  were  far  from  cherishing.  He  exhorts  them  to  trust  in  Christ  the 
Almighty.2  He  reminds  the  Bethlehem  congregation  of  his  many  years 
of  labor  among  them  and  of  its  fruits,  and  says  :  "  For  the  sake  of 
this,  as  God  is  my  witness,  I  have  labored  more  than  twelve  years  in 
preaching  among  you  the  divine  word  ;  and  in  this  my  greatest  conso- 
lation was  to  observe  your  earnest  diligence  in  hearing  God's  word  and 
to  witness  the  true  and  sincere  repentance  of  many."  He  warns  them 
against  the  fickleness  of  those  who  once  fought  by  him  and  then  went 
over  to  the  other  side.  "  Have  no  regard  for  those  persons  walking  a 
crooked  path,  who  have  turned  about  and  are  now  the  most  violent  ene- 
mies of  God,  and  our  enemies."  He  reminds  them  that,  even  among 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  were  those  who  once  walked  with  him  and  then. 
fell  away  from  him.  Exhorting  them  not  to  follow  such  examples,  but 
faithfully  to  persevere  in  the  confession  of  the  truth  and  in  attachment 

1  Ibid.  fol.  96,  2  and  fol.  97,  1.  published  in  the  original  Bohemian.  Leips. 

2  See  Ferd.  B.  Mi lowec,  Letters  of  John     1849.     Let.  4 
Huss,   written    at   Constance    1414-1415, 


316  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

to  those  whom  the  Lord  had  sent  to  preach  it  to  them,  he  requests  them 
to  pray  for  himself,  that  God  would  give  him  good  success  in  preach- 
ing his  word.  "In  all  the  places  —  says  he — where  a  need  exists, 
in  cities,  in  villages,  in  castles,  in  the  fields,  in  forests,  wherever  I  can 
be  of  any  use,  pray  for  me,  that  the  word  of  God  may  not  be  kept  back 
in  me."  l  Sympathy  with  the  cause  of  Huss,  we  perceive,  had  spread 
into  other  cities  of  Bohemia.  Thus  we  find  a  letter  of  his  to  a  foreign 
community,  exhorting  them  to  concord  and  warning  them  against  inter- 
nal dissensions.2  To  a  parish  priest  in  Prachatic,  one  who  had  been 
concerned  in  passing  the  sentence  of  condemnation  against  the  forty-five 
propositions  of  Wicklif  and  in  burning  his  writings,  and  who  persisted 
in  clamoring  against  Huss  himself  as  a  heretic,  he  wrote  a  letter  chal- 
lenging the  man  to  convict  him  of  a  single  heresy,  but  upbraiding  him 
with  the  fact  that,  with  all  his  pretended  zeal  for  orthodoxy,  he  had 
constantly  neglected  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  for  which  he  had 
been  thirty  years  responsible.  "  You  might  yourself  call  to  mind  how, 
for  about  thirty  years,  you  have  sheared  the  sheep  in  Prachatic.  And 
where  is  your  residence,  your  work  ;  where  the  pasturage  of  your 
sheep  ?  "  He  reminds  him  of  what  Christ,  to  whom  he  must  render 
an  account  of  his  doings,  says  against  unfaithful  shepherds  (John  x.), 
and  adds  :  "  This  you  should  have  thought  of  before  you  denounced 
your  neighbor  as  a  heretic."  3 

From  expressions  which  drop  from  him  in  several  of  these  letters,  it 
k  evident  that  his  separation  from  his  beloved  flock  bore  heavily  upon 
his  spirits.  There  may  be  some  ground,  therefore,  for  the  report 
that  Huss  in  the  course  of  this  year,  1413,  went  privately  several 
times  to  Prague,  and  resided  there  ;  leaving  the  city,  as  soon  as  his 
presence  became  known,  and  began  to  make  a  stir."  4  Some  time 
afterwards,  to  be  nearer  to  his  church,  he  changed  his  residence  and 
accepted  the  invitation  of  a  friend,  belonging  to  the  knightly  order, 
Henry  of  Lazan,  who  offered  him,  as  a  place  of  refuge,  his  castle,  the 
strong-hold  of  Cracowec.  From  this  spot,  too,  he  labored  for  the 
spread  of  evangelical  truth,  visiting  those  places  where  large  multi- 
tudes were  wont  to  gather,  and  preaching  before  them.  From  all 
quarters,  it  is  said,  the  people  flocked  together  in  crowds  to  hear 
him. 

Meanwhile  the  time  drew  near  for  the  assembling  of  the  general 
council  at  Constance.  To  the  objects  of  this  council,  the  reformation 
of  the  church  in  its  head  and  members,  the  restoration  of  concord,  tran- 
quillity, and  peace  in  the  church,  necessarily  belonged  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  controversies  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  which  threatened 
to  spread  wider  every  day,  and  which  had  already  attracted  universal 
attention.  Chancellor  Gerson  had  at  an  earlier  period  already  ap- 
prized Archbishop  Conrad,  of  Vechta,  of  the  danger  which  threatened 
the  church  of  a  revolution  growing  out  of  the  commotions  in  Bohemia, 
and  exhorted  him  to  apply  strenuous  measures  for  the  suppression  of 

1  Opp.  I.  fol.  99.  2  and  100,  1.  3  Ibid.  fol.  93,  2. 

8  Ibid.  fol.  100.  2.  *  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  304. 


HUSS    IN   CRACOWEC.  817 

heresies.  Nor  could  it  fail  to  happen  that  the  Emperor  Sigismund 
would  be  urged  to  bring  this  matter  also  within  the  circle  of  business 
to  be  transacted  at  the  council.  He  invited  his  brother,  King  Wen- 
ceslaus,  to  send  Huss  to  Constance,  and  promised  to  furnish  the  latter 
with  a  safe  conduct.  He  caused  Huss  to  be  informed  bv  Left,  of 
Lazan,  one  of  the  two  knights  emploved  to  negotiate  this  affair  between 
him  and  the  emperor,  that  he  would  make  sufficient  provision  for  his 
being  heard  before  the  council,  and  that  if  he  did  not  submit  to  the 
decision  of  the  council,  he  would  send  him  back  unharmed  to  Bohe- 
mia.1 Huss  needed  no  such  invitation  either  from  the  emperor  or  the 
king.  An  opportunity  to  defend  himself  from  the  charge  of  heresy,  to 
give  an  account  of  his  faith  in  presence  of  the  representatives  of  all 
Western  Christendom,  and  to  testify  against  the  corruptions  of  the 
church,  was  what  he  most  earnestly  desired.  But,  before  he  set  out 
on  his  journey  to  Constance,  he  appeared  once  more,  in  the  August 
of  1414,  in  Prague.  Here,  by  a  public  notice  posted  on  all  the 
church  doors,  he  invited  any  man  who  pleased,  under  the  condition 
that  if  he  could  not  make  good  his  case  he  would  agree  to  suffer  the 
same  punishment  which  Huss  would  be  liable  to  if  convicted,  to  con- 
vict him  before  the  archbishop,  or  a  synod  to  be  convoked  by  him,  of 
any  heresy.  Huss  could  not  get  permission,  it  is  true,  either  for  him- 
self or  for  his  advocate  Jesenic,  to  appear  before  the  synod.  He  was 
put  aside  with  the  declaration,  that  they  were  too  busily  occupied  with 
other  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  to  be  able  to  attend  to  his  matter.  He 
got  a  certificate  drawn  up  to  that  effect.  He  had  an  interview,  more- 
over, with  the  archbishop,2  after  which  the  latter  made  out  for  him  a 
declaration,  stating  that  he  found  him  guilty  of  no  heresy ;  that  he 
had  nothing  to  lay  against  him,  save  this  only  that  he  had  remained 
so  long  under  the  ban,  and  nothing  to  advise,  save  only  that  he 
should  get  it  removed  as  soon  as  possible.3  He  also  submitted  to  a 
special  examination  of  the  charges  brought  against  him,  and  undertook 
to  demonstrate  their  futility.4  He  procured  an  investigation  of  his 
creed  under  the  direction  of  the  pope's  inquisitor,  the  bishop  of  Naza- 

1  Ep.  34,  opp.  I,  fol.  69,  I.  The  instru-  in  the  districts  through  which  Huss  would 
ment  relating  to  this  matter  drawn  up  by  be  obliged  to  travel :  but  as  Huss  was 
the  emperor,  whereby  Huss  is  taken  under  taken  unconditionally  under  the  protec- 
the  protection  of  the  emperor  and  the  em-  tion  of  the  emperor  and  the  empire,  as  it 
pire,  speaks  expressly  not  only  of  the  jour-  speaks  not  barely  of  his  journey  to  Con- 
ney  of  llu-s  to  Constance,  but  also  of  his  stance  but  also  of  his  return  home,  it  is 
return  home:  Ut  ei  transire,  stare,  morari,  implied  that  be  should  have  it  in  his  power 
redire  libera  permittatie.  Opp.  I,  fol.  1,  2.  to  return  home  unharmed  from  Constance. 
We  notice  this  on  account  of  the  sophisti-  *  There  was  probably  no  personal  in- 
cal  interpretations  of  that  document  in  terview.  The  statement  is  simply  (fol.  3, 
modern  times,  as  though  it  were  merely  a  2) :  Supplex  petebat  a  dominis  baronibns, 
passport  given  to  Huss  for  his  journey  to  ut  suo  nomine  agerent  cum  domino  arch- 
Constance,  and  as  though  the  emperor,  iepiscopo.  Neither  does  Palacky  know  of 
therefore,  had  not  bound  himself  by  his  any  such  interview, 
word    to  secure   safety   to   Huss   in   Con-         *  Opp.  I.  fol.  3,  2. 

stance  itself.     To  be  sure,  there  is  no  ex-         *  The  report  of  this  trial  from  a  .copy 

press  mention  of  this,  nor  ought  thereto  made  by  Peter  of  Mladcnowic,  secretary 

be  any  if  we  consider  the  nature  of  the  to  that  zealous  friend  of  Huss,  the  Knight 

document,  which  is  addressed  not  to  the  John  of  Chlum,  is  printed  in  the  Stud,  a 

council  but  to  the  lords  and  magistrates  Kritik,  1837,  1,  Heft. 

27* 


318  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

reth,  and  he  too  drew  up  a  testimonial,  certifying  that  he  found  no- 
thing heretical  in  him.  But,  though  many  false  accusations  had  been 
brought  against  Huss,  and  his  expressions  often  perverted  by  his  ene- 
mies, yet  it  is  evident  from  the  expositions  we  have  already  given,  that 
outwardly  devoted  as  Huss  at  that  time  really  was  to  the  dominant 
church  system,  the  principles  expressed  by  him  did,  in  fact,  contain 
within  them  germs  of  doctrine  which  would  lead  to  an  overthrow  of 
that  system.  But  it  depended  entirely  upon  the  fact,  how  far,  how 
sharply  and  profoundly,  the  individual  who  conducted  his  examination 
was  capable  of  seeing,  whether  or  not  that  individual  would  be  able  to 
detect  in  the  obedience,  which  appeared  so  obvious  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  germ  of  resistance  which  lay  concealed  at  bottom.  And  we  cer- 
tainly should  not  omit  to  notice,  that  the  advocates  of  the  church 
party  in  Prague  at  that  time  might  be  determined  in  some  measure, 
by  a  regard  to  the  party  opposed  to  them,  to  act  otherwise  than  they 
would  have  done  in  different  circumstances.1  Huss  before  his  depar- 
ture wrote  to  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  thanking  him  for  the  trouble  he 
'took  on  his  account.  He  says:  "  I  will  humbly  trust  my  life  on  it, 
and  under  the  safe-conduct  of  your  protection  shall,  with  the  permission 
of  the  Highest,  appear  at  the  next  council  at  Constance."  He  begs 
the  emperor  to  provide  for  it ;  that,  coming  in  peace  to  Constance,  he 
might  there  have  an  opportunity  publicly  to  confess  his  faith.  "  For, 
as  I  have  taught  nothing  in  secret,  so  I  wish  to  be  heard,  to  be  exam- 
ined, to  preach,  and,  under  help  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  to  answer  all 
who  are  disposed  to  accuse  me,  not  in  secret  but  publicly.  And  I 
hope  I  shall  not  be  afraid  to  confess  the  Lord  Christ,  and,  if  it  must 
be,  to  die  for  his  law,  which  is  the  most  true."  The  emperor,  as  we 
find  from  this  letter,  had  promised  Huss  that  his  cause  should  be 
conducted  to  a  happy  issue,2  whence,  it  is  evident,  how  far  the  em- 
peror was  from  wishing  or  anticipating  any  such  result  as  that  which 
actually  came  about.  Huss  thanked  the  emperor  for  his  kind  inten- 
tions, and  in  allusion  to  his  promise,  said  "  Which,  too,  your  Majesty 
will  perform  to  the  honor  of  the  King  of  kings."  It  is  evident  from 
many  things  which  he  says,  in  his  farewell  letter,  that  Huss  set  out 
on  his  journey  to  Constance  with  a  feeling  of  perfect  confidence  in  the 
emperor's  word,  and  the  promised  letter  of  safe-conduct,  though  that 
paper  had  not  yet  been  put  into  his  hands.  Several  of  his  friends 
cautioned  him  against  trusting  too  much  in  the  emperor's  word  —  he 
could  deliver  him  over  to  his  enemies.3  Afterwards,  in  the  midst  of 
his  trials  at  Constance,  the  words  of  one  of  his  congregation,  Andrew, 
a  Polish  tailor,  recurred  to  his  thoughts,  who,  in  taking  leave  said  to 

1  As  Paletz  expresses  himself:  No  one  in  Bohemia  had  said  to  him  on  this  sub 
ventured  to  call  the  followers  of  Huss  by  ject :  Quod  cavere  deberem  a  suo  con- 
thcir  proper  name,  quia  rerum  etcorporum  ducto,  et :  Ipse  te  dabit  inimicis,  and  the 
periculum  immineret.     Opp.  I,  fol.  255,  2.  words    addressed    to    him    by    a    certain 

2  Volens  ad  finem  laudabilem  deducere.  knight :  He  might  be  sure  that  he  would 
See  this  letter  in  Palacky,  III,  1,  p.  312  be  condemned.  He  supposes  this  person 
and  313  note.  must  have  known  the  purpose  of  the  em- 

3  Huss  himself  called  to  mind,  when  his  peror.     Ep.  34,  opp.  I,  fol.  68,  2. 
death  was  near  at  hand,  what  his  friends 


DEPARTURE  OF  HDSS  FROM  PRAGUE.  819 

him :  "  God  be  with  thee  ;  for  hardly,  think  I,  wilt  thou  get  back 
again  unharmed,  dearest  Master  John,  and  most  steadfast  in  the  truth ! 
Not  the  king  of  Hungary  but  the  King  of  Heaven  reward  thee  with 
all  good  for  the  good  and  true  instruction  that  I  have  received  from 
thee."  '  It  was  the  consciousness  of  following  a  divine  call,  which 
animated  Huss  in  directing  his  steps  to  Constance,  though  the  presen- 
timent of  death  was  not  absent  from  his  mind.  He  was  resigned  to 
the  will  of  God,  let  his  cause  issue  as  it  might,  the  glory  and  triumph 
of  divine  truth,  the  weal  of  the  souls  for  whom  he  had  labored,  being 
his  sole  wish.  So  he  expresses  himself  in  his  last  letter,  taking  leave 
of  his  congregation,  written  the  day  before  his  departure,  October 
10th,  1414.  "You  know  —  he  begins  —  my  brethren,  that  I  have 
now  long  instructed  you  in  good  faith,  setting  before  you  (rod's  word, 
not  things  remote  from  the  faith  in  Christ,  not  false  doctrines.  For  I 
have  always  sought  and  will  ever  seek,  so  long  as  I  live,  your  wel- 
fare." He  then  says,  that  he  had  intended,  before  leaving,  to  preach 
before  them,  and  defend  himself  from  the  false  accusations  against  his 
faith,  but  had  been  prevented  by  want  of  time,  and  reserved  it  for  a 
future  opportunity.  He  tells  them,  that  he  is  going  into  the  midst  of 
his  worst  enemies.  "  There  will  be  more  against  me  —  he  says  —  in 
the  council  of  my  enemies,  than  there  were  against  our  Saviour :  first, 
of  the  number  of  bishops  and  masters ;  next,  of  the  princes  of  this 
world  and  pharisees.  But  I  hope  in  God,  my  Almighty  Saviour,  that, 
on  the  ground  of  his  own  promise  and  in  answer  to  your  fervent  pray- 
ers, he  will  bestow  on  me  wisdom,  and  a  skilful  tongue,  so  as  to  be 
able*  to  stand  up  against  them.  He  will,  too,  bestow  on  me  a  spirit  to 
despise  persecutions,  imprisonment,  and  death ;  for  we  see  that  Christ 
himself  suffered  for  the  sake  of  his  chosen,  giving  us  an  example,  that 
we  should  suffer  all  things  for  Him  and  for  our  salvation.  He  cer- 
tainly cannot  perish,  who  believes  on  him  and  perseveres  in  his  truth." 
"  If  my  death  —  says  he  —  can  glorify  his  name,  then  may  he  hasten 
it,  and  give  me  grace  to  endure  with  good  courage  whatever  evil  may 
befal  me.  But,  if  it  is  better  for  me  that  I  should  return  to  you, 
then  let  us  beseech  God  for  this,  that  I  may  come  back  to  you  from 
the  council  without  wrong ;  that  is,  without  detriment  to  his  truth,  so 
that  we  may  from  thenceforth  be  able  to  come  to  a  purer  knowledge 
of  it,  to  destroy  the  doctrines  of  Antichrist,  and  leave  behind  us  a 
good  example  for. our  brethren."  "Perhaps  —  says  he  —  you  will 
never  see  me  again  in  Prague;  but,  if  God  should,  in  his  mercy, 
bring  me  back  to  you  again,  I  will  with  a  more  cheerful  courage  go 
on  in  the  law  of  the  Lord ;  but  especially  when  we  shall  meet  to- 
gether in  eternal  glory.  God  is  merciful  and  just,  and  gives  peace 
to  his  own  here,  and  beyond  death.  May  He  watch  over  you,  who 
has  cleansed  us,  his  sheep,  through  his  own  holy  and  precious  blood, 
which  blood  is  the  everlasting  pledge  of  our  salvation.  And  may  He 
grant,  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  fulfil  his  will,  and  having  fulfilled 
it,  attain  to  peace  and  eternal  glory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

1  Ibid.  ep.  33. 


320  HISTORY   OF   TIIEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

with  all  who  abide  in  his  truth."  l  He  sent  back  also  a  letter  to  his 
disciple,  Martin,  a  young  man  who  had  been  trained  up  from  child- 
hood under  his  care,  superscribed  with  the  injunction  that  he  was  not 
to  open  it,  till  he  received  certain  intelligence  of  his  death.  It  con- 
tained touching  exhortations  to  purity  of  morals,  warned  him  against 
extravagance  in  dress,  a  foible  which  still  clung  to  the  young  candi- 
date, and  enjoined  it  upon  him  never  to  seek  a  parish  for  any  earthly 
advantage,  but  only  from  a  desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  souls.2 
He  cautions  him  against  imitating  what  was  faulty  in  his  own  exam- 
ple, mentioning,  among  other  things,  his  passionate  fondness,  before  he 
entered  the  priesthood,  for  the  game  of  chess,  in  pursuing  which  amuse- 
ment he  had  allowed  himself  to  grow  excited  even  to  anger  against 
others.  Such  was  the  delicate  sensibility  of  his  conscience.3  He  de- 
parted from  Prague,  on  the  11th  of  October,  1414,  in  company  with 
four  others  —  the  two  knights,  who  had  it  in  charge  to  protect  him 
from  all  injury,  Wenzel,  of  Duba,  and  John,  of  Chlum,  that  zealous, 
noble  friend  of  Huss,  whom  we  shall  often  have  occasion  to  mention 
hereafter;  Chlum's  secretary,  the  Bachelor  Peter  of  Mladenowic, 
who  also  was  sincerely  attached  to  Huss,  and  his  friend,  the  delegate 
from  Prague  University,  Priest  John  Cardinalis,  of  Reinstein. 

Though  it  was  more  particularly  with  the  party  of  the  German 
theologians,  that  Huss  had  thus  far  had  to  contend,  yet  the  reception 
he  met  with  in  his  journey  through  Germany,  was  by  no  means  such 
as  he  might  have  been  led  to  expect  in  a  country  where  the  report  of 
his  heresies  had  been  so  industriously  circulated  by  his  enemies.  A 
great  longing  for  the  reformation  of  the  church  had  already  spread 
wide  among  the  German  people  ;  and  this  perhaps  inclined  many  to 
look  favorably  on  a  man  who  had  distinguished  himself,  as  they  may 
have  heard  in  various  ways,  by  his  zeal  against  the  corruption  of  the 
spiritual  orders,  and  for  the  purification  of  the  church.  Their  person- 
al intercourse  with  Huss,  the  impression  conveyed  by  his  looks  and 
his  discourse,  would  tend  to  strengthen  this  inclination  to  regard  him 
with  favor.  He  nowhere  avoided  notice :  in  every  town  he  showed 
himself  openly  in  his  carriage,  travelling  in  the  dress  of  a  priest.4  In 
all  the  places  through  which  he  passed,  he  posted  up  public  notices  in 
Bohemian,  Latin,  and  German,  offering  to  give  any  one  who  wished 
to  speak  with  him,  on  the  matter  of  his  faith,  an  account  of  his  reli- 
gious convictions,  and  to  prove,  that  he  was  very  far  from  cherishing 
anything  like  heresy.  In  the  little  town  of  Pernau,  the  parish  priest 
with  his  vicars  waited  upon  him  in  person  at  his  quarters,  drank  to  his 
health  from  a  large  tankard  of  wine,  conversed  with  him  on  matters 
of  christian  faith,  avowed  that  he  fully  agreed  with  him,  and  declared 
that  he  had  always  been  his  friend.5     In  Nuremburg,  the  ancient  seat 

1  Opp.  I,  fol.  57,  ep.  2,  and  Milowec,  1,  turn  raeum  libenter  et  saepe  schacos  lusi, 
Letter.  tempus  neglexi  et  saepe  alios  et  me  ad 

2  Si  vocatus  fueris  ad  plebaniam,  honor  iraeundiam  per  ilium  ludum  infeliciter 
dei,  salus  animarum  et  labor  te  moveat,  provocavi. 

non  habitio  scropharum  vel  praediorum  4  Milowec,  2,  Letter,  of  the  16th  of  Nov., 
Opp.  I,  fol.  57,  1 ;  ep.  1.  1414. 

3  Scis,  quia  (proh  dolor)  ante  sacerdo-        5  Opp.  I,  fol.  57,  2;  ep.  3. 


ARRIVAL   OF   HUSS   IN   CONSTANCE.  321 

of  the  Friends  of  God,  merchants,  who  arrived  earlier  than  himself, 
had  already  spread  the  news  that  he  was  on  his  way  and  might  soon 
be  expected,  and  large  bodies  of  the  people  came  out  to  meet  him. 
Before  dinner  he  received  a  letter,  from  a  parish  priest  of  the  church 
of  St.  Sebaldus,  requesting  an  interview  with  him,  to  which  he  cheer- 
fully consented.  During  dinner  a  note  was  handed  to  him  by  one 
of  his  attendants,  Wenzel,  of  Duba,  purporting  that,  in  consequence 
of  the  notice  he  had  posted  up,  many  citizens  and  -masters  wished  to 
speak  with  him.  This,  too,  was  welcome  tidings.  He  left  his  table 
for  the  purpose  of  conversing  with  them.  The  masters  were  for  hav- 
ing a  private  interview,  because  they  had  scruples  about  the  propriety 
of  speaking  on  such  matters  before  laymen.  But  Huss  would  listen 
to  no  such  proposal  of  discussing  matters  of  faith  privately,  declaring 
that  he  had  always  testified  of  gospel  truth  openly,  and  meant  to  do  so 
still.  In  presence  of  the  burgomaster  and  many  citizens,  he  con- 
versed about  his  doctrine  till  night-fall,  and  his  hearers  professed  to  be 
satisfied  with  him.  If  Huss  sought  to  approve  himself  as  a  genuine 
witness  of  gospel  truth,  before  all  the  world,  we  surely  ought  not  to 
look  upon  this  as  an  ambitious  effort  on  his  part  to  court  the  approba- 
tion of  the  many ;  unless  we  are  disposed  to  raise  the  same  objection 
against  every  zealous  preacher  of  evangelical  truth  ;  which,  to  be  sure, 
is  often  done.  While  Huss  was  disputing  with  certain  persons  in  the 
little  Suabian  town  of  Bibrach,  the  noble  Knight  John,  of  Chlum,  took 
so  lively  an  interest  in  this  disputation,  and  spoke  with  so  much  warmth 
in  favor  of  the  doctrines  of  Huss,  that  he  was  taken  for  a  doctor  of 
theology  ;  hence  Huss  was  wont,  afterwards  in  his  letters,  playfully  to 
call  him  the  Doctor  of  Bibrach.1  Well  aware  of  the  great  ignorance 
of  the  people  in  the  things  of  religion,  Huss  was  accustomed  wherever 
he  lodged  to  leave  for  his  hosts  on  departing  a  copy  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, or  even  to  write  them  in  the  meal,  as  he  had  written 
them  on  the  walls  of  Bethlehem  Chapel. 

He  reached  Constance,  on  the  third  of  November,  some  days  after 
the  arrival  of  Pope  John,  whom  he  met  on  the  way. 

During  the  first  four  weeks,  which  Huss  spent  at  Constance,  nothing 
was  proposed  or  said  with  regard  to  his  affair.  He  would  have  found 
no  friends,  he  writes,  in  Constance,  if  his-  adversaries  from  Bohemia 
had  not  taken  pains  to  make  him  hated.2  Meantime  his  most  violent 
enemies,  the  already  mentioned  Michael  de  Causis,  Paletz,  and  the 
prime  author  of  all  the  last  commotions  in  Prague,  the  man  who  as 
papal  legate  had  brought  to  Bohemia  the  bull  of  indulgence  and  cru- 
sade, Werizel  Tiem,  formerly  dean,  then  provost  of  Passau,  had  also 
arrived.3  These  persons  set  everything  in  motion  against  him  Mich- 
ael de  Causis,  on  the  next  day  after  his  arrival,  caused  a  notice  to  be 
posted  on  all  the  churches,  accusing  him  as  the  vilest  heretic.  His  op- 
ponents brought  with  them  the  writings  which  he  had  composed  during 

'  Ibid.  fol.  71,  1 ;  ep.  45  in  .the  marginal  fortes  insurgunt  contra  me,  quos  praeser- 

note.  tim  concitat  venditor  indulgentiarum,  lJa- 

8  Mikowec,  2,  Letter.  thaviensis  decanus.      Opp.  I,  fol.,  58,   2 ; 

*  Words  of  IIuss :   Multi  adversarii  et  ep.  6. 


322  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

the  last  disputes  and  attempts  at  compromise  ;  writings  in  which  he 
had  most  freely  expressed  his  opinions ;   and  these  they  now  put  in 
circulation.     These   were   especially   to  be  used   against  him.     The 
form  of  accusation,  drawn  up  by  Michael  de  Causis,  was  well  calcula- 
ted to  arouse  against  Huss  the  anxious  suspicions  of  the  hierarchy. 
Assertions  ascribed  wrongly  to  Huss,  and  assertions  which  had  really 
been  made  by  him,  were  lumped  together ;  and  his  accuser  declares, 
that  if  he  should  be  acquitted,  the  clergy  in  Bohemia  must  suffer  griev- 
ous persecutions  in  their  property  and  persons  ;   everything  would  be 
turned  to  confusion,  and  the  evil  would  spread  through  all  Germany  ; 
and  such  a  persecution  of  the  clergy  and  the  faithful  would  ensue,  as 
had  never  been  known  since  the  days  of  Constantine.     If  he  should  in 
any  way  get  safely  out  of  the  hands  of  the  council,  he  and  his  adher- 
ents would  have  it  to  say,  that  his  doctrines  must  have  been  approved 
by  the  council.     The  princes  and  laity  generally  would  fall  upon  the 
clergy,  as  they  had  already  done  in  Bohemia,  and  as  they  were  gene- 
rally inclined  to  do.1     The  pope  sent  as  his  delegate,  to  Huss,  the 
bishop  of  Constance,  accompanied  by  his  officials,  and  the  Auditor 
sacri  palatii,  a  high  officer  of  the  papal  court.     They  informed  him  it 
had  been  with  the  pope  a  matter  of  much  deliberation  how  to  dispose 
of  the  interdict  pronounced  on  the  place  where  he  resided.     Finally, 
the  pope  had  concluded  to  resort  to  the  pope's  plenitude  of  power, 
and  to  suspend  the  interdict  and  the  ban  for  the  present.     It  was  only 
requested  that,  in  order  to  avoid  giving  scandal,  he  would  keep  away 
from  mass   and  other  church    solemnities  ;  in  all  other  respects,  he 
should  have  liberty  to  go  wherever  he  pleased.     But  Huss  had  never 
relinquished  his  right,  as  a  priest,  to  hold  mass ;  nor  did  he  mean  to 
do  it  now  ;  —  a  pertinacity,  which  could  not  fail  to  give  great  offence 
to  the  hierarchical  party. 2     When  many  of  the  friends  of  Huss,  pro- 
testing to  his  innocence,  urged  the  pope  to  retract  all  that  had  hither- 
to been  done  in  the  matter,  he  gave  an  evasive  answer,  laying  all  the 
blame  on  the  enemies  of  Huss  in  Bohemia,  who  refused  to  take  back 
anything,  but  warmly  persisted  in  their  accusations  against  him.3    Yet 
many  no  doubt  were  anxious  that  the  whole  affair  should  be  settled 
before  it  was  brought  up  as  a  matter  for  public  deliberation.     And 
perhaps  Huss,  if  he  could  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  humble  him- 
self before  the  papal  authority,  and  to  give  in  a  recantation  of  the 
heresies  of  which  he  had  been  accused,  might  have  secured  to  himself 
this  advantage.     Two  bishops  and  a  doctor  of  theology  actually  made 
to  him  a  proposition  of  this  sort.4     But  Huss  would  consent  to  nothing 
like  it.     He  wanted  a  public  hearing  before  the  assembled  council ; 
before  that  council  he  felt  impelled  to  give  in  the  account  of  his  faith, 
and  bear  witness  of  the  truth,  for  which  he  contended.     He  hoped 
that  nothing  would  be  done  in  his  affair  until  the  Emperor  Sigismund 

1  Hist.  Flussi,  opp.  I,  fol.  6  sq.  it :   Quid  ego  possum  tamen  ?    vestri  fa- 

2  Words  of  the  Magister  Joh.  Oardinalis     ciunt.     Ibid.  fol.  58,  2  ;  ep.  6. 

of  Reinstein  :    Magister   quotidie    divina  4  Sed  locuti  sunt  duo  episcopi  et  unus 

peragit  et  in   tota  via  peregit   hucusque.  doctor  cum  Jo.  Lepka,  quod  ego  sub  si 

Opp.  I,  fol.  58,  1 ;  ep.  4.  lentio  con  ordarem.    Ibid. 

3  Papa  non  vult  tollere  processus  et  dix- 


HUSS    BEFORE    HIS    IMPRISONMENT    IN    CONSTANCE.  323 

should  arrive,  who  had  already  caused  him  to  be  informed  of  his  satis- 
faction at  learning  that  he  had  started  on  his  journey  without  waiting 
for  the  letter  of  safe-conduct,  which  had  first  reached  him  in  Con- 
stance. When  the  emperor  arrived  he  hoped  by  his  intercession  to 
obtain  a  public  hearing.1  Though  he  could  not  foresee  what  was  to 
be  the  issue,  and  was  far  from  amusing  himself  with  any  false  hopes, 
yet  trust  in  God  and  in  his  truth  raised  him  even  now  above  all  fear, 
and  regarding  himself  simply  as  an  instrument  of  that  truth,  he  confi- 
dently expected  that  it  would  come  forth  triumphant  out  of  every  con- 
flict. "  Assuredly  —  says  he  in  a  letter  to  Prague  —  Christ  is  with 
me  as  a  strong  champion  ;  therefore  fear  I  not  what  the  enemy  may 
do  to  me."  He  says,  speaking  of  the  plots  of  his  enemies :  "  I  fear 
nothing ;  for  I  hope  that,  after  a  great  conflict,  will  ensue  a  great 
victory,  and  after  the  victory  a  still  greater  reward,  and  a  still  greater 
discomfiture  of  my  enemies."2 

Relying  upon  the  expectation  that  he  would  be  permitted  to  speak 
before  the  assembled  council,  he  availed  himself  of  his  leisure  at  Con- 
stance in  preparing  several  discourses  which  he  meant  to  deliver  on  that 
occasion  Accordingly  we  find  a  discourse  in  which  he  designed  to 
give  an  account  of  his  faith.3  He  testified  in  it  his  assent  to  the  church- 
confession  of  faith  ;  appealing  to  the  fact  that  the  Apostles'  Creed  had 
been  inscribed  by  him  on  the  walls  of  Bethlehem  chapel.4  He  declares 
too,  that  it  was  not  his  design  to  teach  anything  contrary  to  the  deci- 
sions of  the  general  councils,  or  contrary  to  the  ancient  canon  and  the 
authority  of  the  approved  church  teachers  ;  always  presupposing,  how- 
ever, that  they  asserted  nothing  but  what  was  contained,  implicite  or 
explicite,  in  the  sacred  Scriptures.5  And  since  his  disputes  on  the 
matter  of  indulgence  had  given  occasion  to  the  charge  brought  against 
him  by  some,  that  he  did  not  acknowledge  the  common  fund  of  the 
merits  of  the  saints  ;  since  he  was  accused  of  contending  against  the 
veneration  of  the  saints,  their  intercession,  the  veneration  of  Mary,  he 
vindicates  himself,  as  he  could  with  truth  and  propriety  do,  against  all 
such  accusations.  With  regard  to  several  of  these  doctrines,  he  was 
not  conscious  as  yet  of  the  contradiction  in  which  they  stood  with  his 
biblical  principles.  All  this  would,  in  time,  have  more  clearly  devel- 
oped itself  to  his  understanding  if  he  had  been  permitted  to  continue 
his  labors  for  a  longer  period  ;  and  as  to  that  matter,  his  opponents 
may  doubtless  have  seen,  more  distinctly  than  he  himself  did,  to  what 
his  principles  were  leading.  With  regard  to  several  other  points,  which 
also  had  something  to  rest  upon  in  the  purely  christian  consciousness, 
he  never  perhaps  would  have  been  led  to  oppose  the  doctrine  of  the 

1  Huss  remarks  of  one  of  the  knights:  3  De  fidci  suae  elucidatione. 

D.   Latzembock  injunxit  mihi,  quod  ante  4  Symbolum  plebem  docui,  et  ipsum  in 

adventum  regis  nihil  attentem  quoad  act-  pariete   capellae,   in   qua   praedicavi,   de- 

us.     Et  spero,  quod  respondebo  in  publica  scribere  praecepi  vulgaritcr.     Opp.  L  fol. 

audientia.     Ibid.   ep.    5.     Observing   that  51,  2. 

men  feared    his  public  answer,  he  adds  :  5  Veneror  etiam  omnia  concilia  gene- 

Quam  spero  de  dei  gratia,  quod  sim  earn  ralia  et  specialia,  decreta  et  dccretales,  et 

consecuturus,  dum  rex  Sigismundus  ad-  omnes  leges,  canones  et  constitutiones :  da 

fuerit.     Ibid.  ep.  6.  quanto  consonant  cx/licite   vel  implicite 

*  Ibid.  legi  dei.     Ibid.  fol.  48,  2. 


324  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

church  even  by  a  still  further  development  of  his  principles  ;    for,  in 
defining  the  doctrine  of  the  community  of  saints,  a  doctrine  which  he 
also  believed  was  taught  in  the  New  Testament  (Eph.  4:  3,15.  1  Cor. 
3,  4  ff.),  he  says  :  "  This  communion  of  the  saints  is  a  participation 
in   all  the  good  which  belongs  to  all  the  members  of  the  mystical  body 
of  Christ,  so  long  as  they  are  found  in  a  state  of. grace."     From  this 
he  argues  that  the  glorified  saints  assist  and  sustain  the  elect  on  the 
earth,  take  joy  in  their  repentance  and  their  progress,  just  as  the  saints 
on  earth  assist  those  who  are  passing  through  the  refining  process  of 
the  purgatorial  fire,  with  their  prayers,  their  good  works,  their  fasts 
and  alms,  so  that  they  are  more  speedily  delivered  out  of  this  state 
and  brought  up  to  their  heavenly  home.     "  And  as  I  heartily  believe 
—  he  goes  on  to  say  —  in  this  community  of  saints,  and  have  now  pub- 
licly avowed  it  with  my  lips,  so  I  entreat  the  most  gracious  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  who  never  refuses  his  grace  to  the  truly  penitent,  that  he 
would  forgive  the  sin  of  those  who,  privately  or  publicly,  have  said  of 
me  that  I  denied  the  doctrine  of  the  intercession  of  saints,  whether  in 
relation  to  those  who  go  on  pilgrimages,  or  those  who  have  died  in 
grace."     He  argues  this  from  the  fellowship  of  all  the  members  of  the 
body  of  Christ  with  one  another,  where  one  sustains  the  other  ;  adducing 
as  proof  those  cases  in  Scripture  where  the  centurion's  intercession  with 
Christ  had  benefited  his  servant,  and  where  the  Syrophenician  woman  had 
helped  her  daughter,  and  then  goes  on  to  argue  :  "  If  a  saint  on  earth, 
still  aifected  with  sin,  can  benefit  another  believer  and  the  whole  church 
by  his  intercession,  how  foolish  it  would  be  to  say  that  one  who  is  pres- 
ent with  Christ  in  glory  could  not  do  the  same."     The  second  discourse 
relates  to  the  restoration  of  peace.     He  distinguishes  three  kinds  of 
peace, —  peace  with  God,  with  ourselves,  and  with  our  neighbor.    The 
first  he  considers  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  other  peace.     He  then 
makes  a  like  three-fold  distinction  in  speaking  of  the  assembly  which 
had  been  convoked  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  describing  peace  with 
God  as  having  its  foundation  in  supreme  love  to  God  in  the  church  ; 
peace  wTith  ourselves  as  consisting  in  this,  that  the  church  should  gov- 
ern itself  in  holiness  ;  peace  with  our  neighbor,  that  it  should  satisfy 
every  neighbor  in  all  that  is  requisite  for  his  eternal  welfare.     To  defi- 
ciency in  the  first,  he  traces  all  failure  in  respect  to  the  last.     The 
worldliness  of  the  church  he  designates  as  the  ground  of  corruption 
and  schism  ;  giving  special  prominence  to  the  corruption  of  the  clergy. 
The  evil  was  bad  enough  already,  when  they  failed  in  that  which  con- 
stitutes the  chief  end  of  their  vocation,  to  hold  forth  the  word  of  God 
to  the  laity.   When  priests  neglected  this,  they  were  already  angels  of 
darkness,  clothing  themselves  like  angels  of  light;  servants  of  Antichrist, 
not  servants  of  Christ ;  and  their  neglect  to  study  the  divine  word,  their 
want  of  fidelity  to  that  word  was  the  source  of  all  the  other  corruptions, 
which  he  then  goes  on  to  portray.1     Again,  as  Huss  had  been  accused  of 
rejecting  the  authority  of  church  traditions  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  laws, 
of  disturbing  the  foundations  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  order,  it  was  his 


1  De  pace,  opp.  I,  fol.  52  sq. 


HUSS    BEFORE    HIS    IMPRISONMENT    IN    CONSTANCE.  :._.> 

wish  to  explain,  in  a  discourse  before  the  council,  the  sense  of  the 
propositions  really  expressed  by  him  and  perverted  by  his  opponents. 
This  he  did  in  his  discourse  on  the  sufficiency  of  the  law  of  Christ  for 
the  guidance  of  the  church,'  where  we  shall  recognize  a  great  deal  that 
corresponds  with  the  doctrines  of  Matthias  of  Janow.  He  begins  with 
saying  :  "  I,  an  ignorant  man,  being  about  to  speak  before  the  wise  of 
all  the  world,  entreat  you  by  the  mercy  of  Jesus  Christ,  true  God  and 
true  man,  that  you  would  calmly  listen  to  me.  For  I  know  from  the 
words  of  Nicodemus  (John  7:  51)  that  the  law  judgeth  no  man  before 
it  hear  him  and  know  what  he  doeth.  I,  the  poorest  of  priests,  will 
however  endeavor,  as  I  have  aforetime  endeavored,  to  carry  out  the 
law  of  Christ  in  myself,  by  taking  heed,  so  far  as  the  grace  of  God  en- 
ables me,  against  revenge,  envy,  and  vain-glory ;  since  from  my  heart 
I  strive  only  for  the  glory  of  God,  the  confession  of  his  truth,  the  ban- 
ishment of  all  evil  thoughts  against  my  neighbor,  and  the  defence  of 
the  law  of  Christ.  For  I  am  bound  carefully,  humbly,  and  patiently 
to  defend  the  most  excellent  law  of  Christ,  as  Christ  himself  and  his 
disciples  did  the  same."  "  As  I  have  often  said  before  —  he  adds  — 
so  now  too  I  solemnly  protest,  that  I  never  have  and  never  will  perti- 
naciously aifirm  anything  which  is  contrary  to  a  truth  of  faith.  I  hold 
firmly  all  the  truths  of  faith,  as  I  have  ever  firmly  held  them  and  am 
resolved  that  I  will  ever  firmly  hold  them  ;  so  that,  rather  than  defend  an 
error  opposed  to  them,  I  would  prefer,  hoping  in  the  Lord  and  with  his 
help,  to  suffer  a  terrible  punishment  of  death ;  nay,  sustained  by  the  grace 
of  God,  I  am  ready  to  give  up  this  poor  life  for  the  law  of  Christ.  As  I 
have  in  my  academical  answer  and  acts  and  in  my  public  preaching 
often  submitted,  so  now  too  I  submit  and  will  in  the  future  humbly  sub- 
mit myself  to  the  order  of  this  most  holy  law,  to  the  atonement  by  the 
same,  and  to  obedience  to  it ;  ready  to  retract  anything  whatever  that 
I  have  said,  when  I  am  taught  that  it  is  contrary  to  truth."  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  theme  he  takes  notice  of  an  objection,  namely  that, 
according  to  the  above  supposition  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  law  of  Christ, 
all  other  laws  would  be  superfluous,  and  ought  therefore  to  be  done 
away  with.  He  disposes  of  this  objection  by  referring  all  other  laws 
to  this  one  law,  by  holding  that  they  are  to  be  regarded  only  as  de- 
pendant on  the  latter,  their  force  consisting  in  their  harmony  and  cor- 
respondence with  the  same.  All  other  laws  were,  in  their  principle, 
contained  implicate  in  this  law,  were  only  the  evolution  of  this  law,  or 
simply  designed  to  establish  and  promote  its  claims  in  all  circumstances 
and  relations  :  therefore,  subservient  to  it.  "  Human  laws  —  says  he 
—  are  included  in  the  divine  law  ;  nay,  they  are  themselves  the  law 
of  Christ  in  so  far  as  they  are  subservient  to  this  law."  Of  the 
"  canon  law,"  he  remarks  that  it  was  partly  derived  from  the  divine 
law,  and  partly  akin  to  the  civil  law,  and  included  in  both  these  parts. 
Civil  laws  had  been  created  by  occasion  of  the  sins  of  mankind,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  forcibly  the  state  of  justice  in  the  commonwealth, 
so  far  as  it  concerned  earthly  goods  ;  while  the  evangelical  law   was 

1  De  sufficientia  legis  Christi  ad  regendam  ecclesiara. 
VOL.    T.  28 


326 


HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 


designed  for  the  preservation  of  goods  in  the  kingdom  of  grace.  Ac- 
cordingly he  is  of  the  opinion  that  everything  else  should  be  made  sub- 
servient to  Christianity  ;  because  the  trades,  professions,  and  liberal  arts 
should  all  be  regulated  with  reference  to  the  law  of  Christ  as  the  highest 
end,  should  be  subservient  to  that  law  ;  the  trades  and  professions,  in 
preparing  what  is  requisite  for  the  supply  of  bodily  wants  ;  the  liberal 
arts,  in  promoting  the  understanding  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.1  But  the 
expectation  of  Huss,  that  he  would  have  liberty  to  speak  freely  before 
the  assembled  council,  was  not  fulfilled.  The  intrigues  of  his  enemies  ; 
the  tickets  sent  about,  by  his  friends  or  his  enemies,  announcing  that 
he  would  appear  and  preach  in  public  on  a  certain  Sunday  ;  2  the  fear 
that  Huss  might  escape  from  Constance,  a  rumor  to  this  effect  having 
already  got  abroad  ; 3  the  uncompromising  zeal  with  which  he  unfolded 
and  explained  his  principles  before  all  who  visited  him  in  his  place  of 
abode  ;  all  these  things  cooperated  to  bring  it  about  that,  on  the  28th 
of  November,  1414,  Huss  was  deprived  of  his  liberty. 

On  that  day,  towards  noon,  an  embassy  from  the  pope  and  cardinals, 
consisting  of  the  bishops  of  Augsburg  and  Trent,  the  burgomaster  of 
Constance,  and  the  lord  Hans  of  Baden,  visited  Huss,  with  whom  his 


1  De  suffic.  leg.  Christi,  opp.  I,  fol.  44, 
2  sq. 

8  It  was  an  announcement  of  this  sort, 
that  whoever  would  come  to  church  to 
hear  him  on  this  particular  Sunday,  should 
have  a  ducat.  Master  Cardinalis  of  Rein- 
stein,  who  reports  the  fact,  does  not  him- 
self decide,  whether  this  was  done  by  a 
friend  or  an  enemy :  Alias  nescitur,  an 
amicus  vel  inimicus  heri  intimavit  in  ec- 
clesia,  quia  Hus  dominica  proxima  prae- 
dicabit  ad  clerum  in  ecclesia  Constantien- 
si,  et  cuilibet  praesenti  dabit  unum  duca- 
tum.  Opp.  I,  fol.  58, 1 ;  ep.  4.  And  among 
the  articles  of  complaint  afterwards  brought 
against  Huss,  one  was  that  he  had  preach- 
ed openly.     V  d.  Herdt,  IV,  p.  213. 

a  It  is  "plain  how  this  rumjjr  arose  when 
we  compare  what  Palucky  (III,  1,  p.  321 
note)  has  communicated  from  the  manu- 
script report  of  Peter  of  Mladenowic,  the 
freshest  and  most  trustworthy  witness,  who 
was  at  that  time  in  the  vicinity  of  Huss. 
A  hav-wagon  covered  with  canvas  had 
left  the  city  and  afterwards  returned  with- 
out the  covering.  Hence  it  was  subse- 
quently noised  abroad  that  Huss  had  been 
concealed  under  the  canvas.  The  canon- 
ical Ulrich  of  Reichenthal,  and  the  court- 
martial  Dacher,  in  their  histories  of  the 
council  of  Constance,  are  cited  as  witness- 
es of  the  flight  of  Huss.  To  say  nothing 
of  the  confusion  of  dates  in  the  former,  it 
is  easy  to  see  how  he  may  have  been  de- 
ceived by  the  rumor;  and  their  histories, 
having  been  drawn  up  long  after  the  time 
of  the  events,  are  on  this  account  the  less 
worthy  to  be  relied  on  as  vouchers  for 
facts.  The  silence  of  Huss  and  of  his  ac- 
cusers with  regard  to  any  such  event  is 


assuredly  the  most  certain  testimony  of 
his  innocence.  As  everything  was  raked 
np  which  could  possibly  be  made  use  of 
against  him,  as  there  was  so  great  a  desire 
especially  to  smooth  over  the  affair  of 
his  imprisonment,  they  certainly  would 
not  have  neglected  to  mention  any  such 
attempt  of  Huss  to  escape,  if  such  a  thing 
had  in  any  way  been  possible.  In  parti- 
cular, his  violent  enemy,  the  already  men- 
tioned bishop  John  of  Leitomysl,  who 
spared  no  pains  in  bringing  together  facts 
to  justify  his  conduct  towards  Huss  would 
never  have  omitted  to  take  notice  of  this 
flight.  But  all  he  has  to  say  against  Huss 
in  this  regard,  is  that  he  preached  publicly 
at  Constance.  But  even  this  could  be 
disputed  by  the  knight  of  Chlum,  who  so- 
lemnly affirmed  that  Huss  had  never  left 
his  quarters  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
abode  in  Constance.  He  denies,  quod 
ipse  Hus  a  tempore  adventus  sui  ad  banc 
civitatem  usque  ad  diem  et  tempus  eapti- 
vitatis  suae  unum  passum  extra  domain 
hospitii  exiisset  (V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  213). 
It  is  plain,  therefore,  —  and  the  same  thing 
has  been  already  shown  by  Palacky  in  the 
passages  cited  on  a  former  page  —  how 
entirely  without  foundation  the  story  about 
the  attempt  of  Huss  to  escape  is  repre- 
sented by  Aschbach,  as  a  credible  one  in 
his  History  of  the  Emperor  Sigismund, 
(II,  32) ;  not  to  mention,  that  he  describes 
it  as  having  occurred  at  a  time  when  it 
could  not  have  occurred,  viz.,  in  the  inter- 
val between  the  appearance  of  Huss  before 
the  papal  chancery  and  his  return  to  his 
quarters  ;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  no  such 
return  ever  took  place. 


SEIZURE   AND   IMPRISONMENT   OF   HUSS.  327 

faithful  friend  the  knight  of  Chlum  happened  then  to  be  present.  The 
envoys  told  him  it  was  now  agreed  to  give  him  the  hearing  which  lie 
had  so  often  demanded,  and  he  was  invited  to  follow  the  embassy  into 
the  pope's  palace.  The  knight  of  Chlum,  who  at  once  saw  through  th« 
motives  of  the  whole  arrangement,  rose  with  indignation  and  exclaimed  : 
Such  a  violation  of  the  honor  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  holy  Roman 
empire  was  not  to  be  tolerated.  The  emperor  had  given  his  own  word 
to  Huss  that  he  should  obtain  a  free  hearing  at  the  council.  He  him- 
self, who  had  received  it  in  charge  to  watch  over  the  safety  of  Huss, 
was  responsible  for  that  charge  and  bound  to  see  that  nothing  was  done 
against  the  emperor's  word.  He  could  not  permit  this,  and  must  pro- 
test against  such  a  proceeding.  The  cardinals  would  do  well  to  con- 
sider what  they  were  about,  and  not  suppose  that  they  could  be  allowed  to 
trifle  with  the  honor  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  empire.  The  bishop 
of  Trent  here  interposed  :  They  had  no  bad  intentions  whatever. 
Everything  should  be  done  in  peace  ;  they  wished  only  to  avoid  mak- 
ing a  stir.  Huss  now  took  up  the  word  and  declared  that  he  had 
not  come  there  to  appear  before  the  pope  and  Roman  court,  but  to  ap- 
pear before  the  whole  assembled  council,  to  give  in  their  presence  an 
account  of  his  faith  ;  yet  he  was  ready  to  appear  and  testify  of  his 
faith  also  before  the  cardinals.  Though  they  used  force  against  him, 
still  he  had  a  firm  hope  in  God's  grace  that  they  never  would  succeed 
in  inducing  him  to  fall  from  the  truth.  Saying  this,  Huss  followed  the 
embassy.  On  the  lower  floor,  he  was  met  by  the  mistress  of  the  house, 
who  took  leave  of  him  in  tears.  Struck  with  a  presentiment  of  death, 
and  deeply  moved,  he  bestowed  on  her  his  blessing.  Mounting  on 
horseback  he  proceeded,  with  the  embassy  and  the  knight  of  Chlum,  to 
the  court.  The  prelates,  fearing  a  movement  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
had  taken  care  that  the  city  magistrates,  who  were  completely  subser- 
vient to  the  council,  should  place  soldiers  in  the  neighboring  streets, 
so  that  if  necessary  the  step  might  be  carried  through  by  force.  When 
Huss  appeared  before  the  chancery,  the  president  of  the  college  of  car- 
dinals said  :  It  was  reported  of  him  that  he  publicly  taught  many 
and  grievous  heresies,  and  disseminated  them  in  all  Bohemia.  The 
thing  could  not  be  allowed  to  go  on  so  any  longer ;  hence  he  had  been 
sent  for,  with  a  view  to  learn  from  himself  how  the  matter  stood.  To 
this  Huss  replied,  that  such  was  his  mind,  he  would  prefer  to  die 
rather  than  to  teach  one  heresy,  not  to  say  many  ;  and  the  very  rea- 
son for  which  he  had  come  there  was  to  make  himself  answerable  to 
the  council  and  to  recant  if  he  could  be  convicted  before  it  of  holding 
any  error.  The  cardinals  expressed  their  satisfaction  at  the  temper  of 
mind  here  manifested  by  Huss.  They  then  adjourned,  leaving  Huss 
and  Chlum  under  the  surveillance  of  the  men  at  arms.  About  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  again  assembled  in  chancery,  and  several 
Bohemians  were  also  in  attendance,  both  enemies  and  friends  of  Huss  : 
among  the  former,  Paletz  and  Michael  de  Causis  ;  among  the  latter, 
the  already  named  John  Cardinalis.  The  former  did  their  utmost  to 
prevent  Huss  from  being  set  at  liberty  ;  and  having  gained  their  ob- 
ject, burst  into  a  loud  murmur  of  applause,  crying  out  insultingly  to 


828  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

Huss  :  "  Now  we  have  you,  nor  shall  you  escape  till  you  have 
paid  the  uttermost  farthing."  That  John  of  Reinstein,  was  al- 
ready well  known  as  a  skilful  diplomatist,  who  had  frequently  been 
employed  by  King  Wenzel  in  transacting  business  with  the  Roman 
chancery.  Hence  he  is  said  to  have  derived  his  appellation  Cardinalis, 
which  was  first  a  nick-name,  but  afterwards  retained  by  him.  Paletz 
now  reminded  him  of  the  injury  done  to  his  reputation  by  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Hussite  heresy  :  he  who  once  enjoyed  so  much  influence 
with  the  cardinals,  had  now  become  a  mere  cipher.  The  master  replied  : 
"  Keep  your  pity  for  yourself;  if  you  knew  any  evil  of  me,  you  might 
have  cause  to  pity  me."  And  thus  they  separated.  Towards  evening, 
it  was  intimated  to  Chlum  that  he  might  retire  to  his  lodgings  ;  Huss 
must  remain  there.  Filled  with  indignation,  Chlum  hastened  away  to 
the  pope,  who  happened  to  be  still  present  in  the  assembly.  He  over- 
whelmed him  with  reproaches  that  he  had  dared  thus  to  trifle  with  the 
word  of  the  emperor,  that  he  had  thus  deceived  him.  He  held  up  to  him 
the  inconsistency  between  his  conduct  and  his  promises  ;  for  he  had 
assured  him  and  another  Bohemian,  his  uncle  Henry  of  Latzembock, 
that  Huss  should  be  safe,  even  though  he  had  killed  the  pope's  brother. 
The  pope,  however,  exculpated  himself  by  saying  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  imprisonment  of  Huss.  He  referred  to  the  cardinals 
as  responsible  for  the  whole  transaction.  "  You  know  very  well  — 
said  he —  the  terms  on  which  I  stand  with  them."  And  true  enough 
it  was,  indeed,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  preceding  narrative,  that 
the  pope  stood  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  cardinals,  and  in  his  present 
dubious  position  was  compelled  to  comply  with  all  their  wishes.  He 
certainly  had  much  more  to  do  in  looking  after  his  own  personal  inter- 
ests than  after  the  conformity  of  others  to  the  orthodox  faith.  The 
same  night  Huss  was  conducted  to  the  house  of  a  canonical  priest  in 
Constance,  where  he  remained  eight  days  under  the  surveillance  of  an 
armed  guard.  On  the  6th  of  December  he  was  conveyed  to  a  Do- 
minican cloister  on  the  Rhine,  and  thrown  into  a  narrow  dungeon  filled 
with  pestiferous  effluvia  from  a  neighboring  sink. 

The  knight  of  Chlum  did  not  cease  to  complain  of  the  violation 
clone  to  the  emperor's  safe-conduct.  He  immediately  reported  the 
whole  proceeding  to  the  emperor.  The  latter  expressed  his  indigna- 
tion at  it,  demanded  that  Huss  should  be  set  free,  and  threatened  to 
break  into  the  prison  by  force,  if  the  doors  were  not  voluntarily  thrown 
open.i  On  the  24th  of  December,  Chlum,  in  the  name  of  the  empe- 
ror, publicly  posted  up  a  certificate,  declaring,  in  the  most  emphatic 
language,  that  the  pope  had  been  false  to  his  promise,  that  he  had 
presumed  to  insult  the  authority  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  empire,  by 
paying  no  regard  whatever  to  the  emperor's  demands.  When  the 
emperor  himself  should  come  to  Constance,  and  it  was  announced  that  he 
might  be  expected  the  next  day,  it  would  be  seen  what  his  indigna- 
tion was  at  learning  of  such  violation  of  his  majesty .2     After  such 

I  V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  pag.  26.  detentio  et  captio  dicti   Has  est  facta  con 

II  Chlum  says  in  this  declaration :    Qua-     tra  regis  omnimodam  voluntatem,  cum  sit 
propter  ego  regio  nomine  manifesto,  quod    in  coutemptum  suorum  salvi  conductus  et 


chlum's  protest  against  the  imprisonment  of  huss.     329 

declarations  it  may  well  be  asked,  what  did  the  emperor  really  mean 
by  all  this  ?  How  far  was  he  in  earnest;  and  how  far  merely  acting  a 
part  and  pretending  anger  from  motives  of  policy  ?  That  he  had  an 
interest  in  representing  himself  to  be  more  annoyed  and  angry,  than 
he  really  was,  and  in  uttering  threats  which  he  never  meant  to  fulfil, 
is  evident.  For  it  behooved  him  to  do  all  he  could  to  remove  from 
himself  the  reproach  of  a  want  of  good  fai^h,1  and  to  soothe  the  highly 
irritated  temper  of  the  important  party  of  Huss  in  Bohemia,  and  of 
the  knights  who  espoused  his  cause  most  decidedly.  But  still  there  is 
no  evidence  from  facts  to  justify  any  such  supposition.  For,  if  the 
emperor  took  no  further  steps  to  procure  the  release  of  Huss,  still 
this  would  not  amount  to  a  proof  of  his  insincerity.  If  he  did  not  do 
this,  he  did  something  else.  He  had  an  honest  intention  to  abide  by 
his  imperial  word ;  he  was  at  first  really  annoyed,  that  it  had  been 
presumed  so  grievously  to  violate  it ;  and  he  wras  supposed  to  have  suf- 
ficient freedom  of  mind  and  firmness  of  character  to  defy  the  spirit  of 
the  times,  so  far  as  to  carry  through  what  he  had  considered  to  be  just 
and  right,  in  spite  of  the  authority  which  was  held  to  be  the  most  sacred 
in  the  church.  Indeed,  Pope  John  afterwards  particularly  brought 
it  forward,  as  we  have  mentioned  on  a  former  page,  in  complaint  of 
the  emperor,  and  in  exculpation  of  his  own  flight  from  Constance,  that 
the  emperor  restrained  the  liberty  of  the  council  in  transacting  busi- 
ness relative  to  the  faith,  and  would  not  let  justice  have  its  course. 
But,  leaving  the  emperor's  declarations  entirely  out  of  view,  we  should 
certainly  take  into  account  the  great  influence  which  the  power  of  the 
church  exercised  over  him.  When,  on  the  1st  of  January,  a  deputa- 
tion of  the  council  appeared  before  the  emperor,  and  declared  to  him 
that  he  ought  not  to  interfere  in  transactions  relative  to  matters  of 
faith,  that  the  council  must  have  its  full  liberty  in  the  investigation  of 
heresies,  and  in  its  proceedings  against  heretics,  Sigismund  no  longer 
ventured  to  resist,  and  promised  the  council  that  he  would  allow 
them  all  liberty  and  never  interpose  his  authority  in  these  matters.2 
In  truth,  had  the  emperor  been  disposed  to  insist  farther  on  the  liber- 
ation of  Huss,  it  might  easily  have  led  to  consequences  most  perilous 
to  the  future  proceedings  of  the  council.  The  pope  might  have  taken 
advantage  of  this  to  gain  over  a  large  party  to  his  interests,  and  the 
seeds  of  schism,  which,  as  we  have  before  seen,  were  already  present 
in  the  council,  would  doubtless  have  gone  on  to  multiply,  till  they 
brought  on  an  open  breach,  and,  perhaps,  a  breaking  up  of  the  coun- 
cil. There  is  certainly  much  that  is  true  in  the  vindication  of  himself 
by  the  Emperor  Sigismund  against  the  Bohemian  estates,  who  espoused 
the  cause  of  Huss,  when,  in  the  year  1417,  he  writes :  "  If  Huss  had, 

pnitectionis   imperii  facta,  eo   quod   pro  '  If  the  imperial  salvus  conductus  had 
tunc  dictus  dominus  meus  a  Constantia  been  nothing  but  a  pass  made  out  by  the 
longe  distabat,  et  si  interfuissot,  nunquam  emperor,  as  modern  historical  sophists  as- 
hoc  pcrmisisset.    Cum  autem  venerit,  qui-  sert,   there  would,  indeed,   have  been   no 
libet  sentire  debebit,  ipsum  de  vilipensione  need  of  all  this. 
sibi  et  suae  et  imperii  protectionis  ac  salvo  2  V.  d.  Har-dt,  IV,  pag.  32. 
illata  conduetui,  dolorosius  molestari.     V. 
d.  Hardt,  IV,  p.  28. 

28* 


830  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

in  the  first  instance,  come  to  him,  and  had  gone  with  him  to  Con- 
stance, his  affair  would  perhaps  have  had  a  quite  different  turn.  And, 
God  knows,  that  we  experienced  on  his  account  and  at  his  fall,  a 
sorrow  and  pain  too  great  to  be  expressed  by  words.  And  all  the 
Bohemians  that  were  then  with  us  certainly  knew,  how  we  interceded 
for  him,  and  that  several  times,  seized  with  indignation,  we  left  the 
council.  Nay,  on  his  account,  we  went  away  from  Constance,  till 
they  declared  to  us,  If  we  would  not  allow  justice  to  be  executed  at 
the  council,  they  knew  not  what  business  they  had  to  be  there.  Thus 
we  verily  thought  that  we  could  do  nothing  further  in  this  affair. 
Nor  could  we  even  speak  about  it,  for  had  we  done  so,  the  council 
would  have  entirely  broken  up."  l 

The  preliminary  examinations  of  the  process  against  Huss  were  now 
to  begin,  in  the  order  in  which  the  complaints  had  been  brought  against 
him  by  Paletz,  Michael  de  Causis,  and  others ;  and  for  this  purpose, 
on  the  1st  December,  a  committee  was  nominated,  which  consisted  of 
the  patriarch  John,  of  Constantinople,  the  bishop  John,  of  Lubeck,2 
and  Bernhard,  of  Citta  di  Castello.  To  these  men  the  pope  commit- 
ted the  affair  by  a  constitution  in  which  he  already  names  Huss  as  a 
dangerous  heretic,  who  was  spreading  abroad  mischievous  errors,  and 
had  seduced  many ;  and  charged  them  to  report  the  result  of  their 
examination  to  the  council,  that  the  latter  might  pass  a  definitive  sen- 
tence on  Huss,  in  conformity  thereto.3  The  agreement  of  these  two 
testimonies  is  decisive  against  the  statement  of  Hermann  v.  d.  Hardt, 
who,  following  the  report  of  Cerretanus,  describes  the  commission  dif- 
ferently. Huss  demanded  of  the  committee  a  solicitor ;  but  to  a  here- 
tic no  such  privilege  could  be  granted  ;  and  it  was  refused  him.  Huss 
thereupon  said  to  his  judges :  "  Well,  then,  let  the  Lord  Jesus  be  my 
advocate,  who  also  will  soon  be  your  judge."  4  A  severe  taunt  on  the 
council,  was  an  expression  afterwards  uttered  by  a  Parisian  deputy  in 
connection  with  another  affair,  which  was  to  this  effect,  that  if  Huss 
had  been  allowed  an  advocate,  they  would  never  have  been  able  to 
convict  him  of  heresy.5  The  unhealthy  locality  of  his  prison  brought 
upon  Huss  a  severe  fit  of  sickness,  fever  connected  with  an  affection 
of  the  bladder,  which  it  was  feared  he  could  not  survive.  The  pope 
sent  him  his  own  body  physician ;  for  it  was  not  desired  that  he 
should  die  a  natural  death.  Through  the  intercession  of  his  friends 
he  was  permitted  to  exchange   his   cell  for  more  airy  rooms  in  the 

1  Cochlaeus,  pag.  157.  carcere  petivi  commissarios,  ut  mihi  depu- 

2  Palacky,  p.  330  has,  after  Mladenowic,  tarent  procuratorem    et    advocatum,    qui 
bishop  of  Lebus.  promiserunt    et    postea    dare    noluerunt, 

3  Raynaldi  annales  vol.  1,  1414,  s.  10  if.  Ego  commisi  me  domino  Jesu  Christo,  ut 

4  We  take  this  from  the  words  of  Huss  ipse  procure!  et  advocet  et  judicet  causam 
himself:  Cogitationem  de  objiciendis  com-  meam.     Ibid.  fol.  72,  2 :  ep.  49. 

misi  domino  deo,  ad  quern  appellavi,  quem  5  Joannes  Hus  haereticus  declaratus  et 

judicem,  procuratorem  et  advocatum  mihi  condemnatus  per  sacrum  concilium  gene- 

clegi  coram  commissariis.  expresse  dicens :  rale    si   habuisset    advocatum,  nunquam 

Dominus  Jesus  meus  advocatus  sit  et  pro-  fuisset  convictus.     Acta  in   cone.  Const, 

curator,   qui   vos   omnes   brevi  judicabit.  circa  damnat.  Joann.  Parvi.    Gerson,  opp 

Opp.  I,  fol.  71,  2;  ep.  46.    Further:  Item  V,  pag.  444. 
seiatis,  quod  coram  testibus  et  notariis  in 


SICKNESS    OF   HUSS    IN   PRISON.  331 

same  convent,  which  was  now  assigned  to  him  as  his  prison.  Here 
he  was  attacked  with  a  new  access  of  that  severe  distemper,  after 
having  spent  eight  weeks  in  his  prison,  as  appears  from  his  own 
words :  "  I  have  been  a  second  time  dreadfully  tormented  with  an 
affection  of  my  bladder,  which  I  never  had  before,  and  with  severe 
vomiting  and  fever ;  my  keepers  feared  I  should  die  ;  and  they  have 
led  me  out  of  my  prison,  (probably  only  for  a  few  moments  to  enjoy 
the  fresh  air)."  l  His  keepers  were,  for  the  most  part,  very  kind  to 
him  ; 9  hence,  to  show  his  gratitude,  he  afterwards  composed  for  them 
a  few  papers  on  practical  Christianity.  In  fetters,  and  amidst  these 
severe  sufferings,  he  was  obliged  to  draw  up  his  answers  to  the  com- 
plaints brought  against  him  by  Michael  de  Causis  and  Paletz.  It  was 
not  without  deep  pain  he  found  out  that  they  used  against  him  pas- 
sages from  intercepted  letters,  in  part  distorted,  and  familiar  expres- 
sions which  he  had  dropped  in  conversation  with  theologians,  who  had 
formerly  been  his  friends,  and  afterwards  deserted  him.3  Huss,  to 
whom,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  it  was  a  source  of  great  disappoint- 
ment and  mortification,  that  he  could  not  succeed  in  obtaining  a  hear- 
ing from  the  council,  had  complained  of  this  in  a  letter  to  Jacobellus, 
of  Misa,  and  told  him  that  he  had  learned  from  the  mouth  of  his  ene- 
mies that  he  could  not  obtain  a  public  hearing,  except  by  paying  2000 
ducats  to  the  people  of  the  Roman  court,  whom  he  styled  servants  of 
Antichrist.  This  letter  his  enemies'  spies  contrived  to  get  into  their 
hands,  as  well  as  a  letter  by  Jacobellus,  who  reflected  severely  on  the 
conduct  of  the  council.  Both  were  to  be  used  against  him  ;  and  both 
were  laid  before  him.  This  system  of  espionage  and  the  indiscretion 
of  his  friends  bore  heavily  on  the  spirits  of  Huss,  and  he  writes  that 
this  Jacobellus,  who  was  the  loudest  to  warn  against  hypocrites,  was 
the  man  who  suffered  himself  to  be  most  deceived  by  them.  Paletz 
visited  him  during  his  first  illness  as  an  accuser ;  the  sufferings  of  his 
old  friend  could  not  move  him  to  relent.  He  never  spoke  to  him, 
in  the  presence  of  the  commission,  but  in  the  harshest  language  — 
language  calculated  to  arouse  prejudice  and  suspicion  —  such  as  that, 
since  the  time  of  Christ,  more  dangerous  heretics  than  Wicklif  and 
Huss  had  not  appeared :  all  that  ever  attended  his  preaching  were 
infected  with  the  disposition  to  deny  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation. 
Said  Huss  to  him;  Sad  greeting  do  you  give  me,  and  sadly  do  you 
sin  against  your  own  soul !  Look  ;  perhaps,  I  am  to  die  ;  or,  should  I 
recover  my  health,  to  be  burned  ;  what  return  will  you  then  get  for  all 
this  in  Bohemia  ?  "  4     He  speaks  of  Paletz,  generally,  as  his  fiercest 

1  Words  of  Huss:  Cras  octo  hebdomae  rat,  et  Paletz  ilia  antiqtia,  quae  locuti  su- 

ernut,<[uod  Hus  positaest  ad  refectorium.  mas  ante  multos  annos,  articulat.     Ibid. 

—  Nam  iterum  horriliiliter  fui  vexatus  per  fol.  72,  2 ;  ep.  48. 

reticulum,   quem   nunquam   prius    passus        4  In  the  first  letter  in  which  Huss  says 

sum,  et  gravcm  vomitum  ct  febres.     Jam  anything  about  this,  the  one  written  during 

custodes  timebant,  ne  morerer,  qui  eduxe-  his  sickness,  he  writes  concerning  Paletz: 

runt  me  de  carcere.     Opp.  1,  fol.  74,  1  et  Qui   me   jacentcm   in   infirmitate    coram 

73,2;  ep.  51.  multis  salutavit  salutatione  horribilissima, 

*  So  says  Huss  himself:  Omnes  clerici  quam  postea  die-am  robis,  si  deo  placuerit. 
camerac  domini  papae  et  omnes  custodes  Ibid.  fol.  71,  2;  ep.  46.  He  quotes  his  very 
valde  pie  me  traetant.  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1 ;  ep.  52.  language,  ibid.  fol.  68,  2  ;  ep.  33. 

*  Nam  Michael  et  literas  et  alia  explo- 


332  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

enemy,  who  did  him  the  most  injury.  He  had,  for  example,  strenu- 
ously urged  that  all  the  adherents  of  Huss  should  be  cited  and  forced 
to  an  abjuration  of  heresy.  Huss,  adverting  to  this,  says :  "  May 
God  Almighty  pardon  him  !  "  l  The  profound  impression  which  the 
treatment  experienced  from  his  former  friend  made  on  the  tender  sen- 
sibilities of  Huss,  appears  from  several  of  his  letters.  "  Never  in  my 
whole  life  —  says  he  —  did  I  receive  from  any  man  harsher  words  of 
comfort  than  from  Paletz."  2  And,  in  words  of  St.  Jerome,  he  de- 
scribes how  beyond  all  other  wrong  it  must  needs  wound  the  heart,  to 
see  love  converted  into  hate  in  one  who  has  the  wrong  all  on  his  own 
side.3  In  a  letter  of  the  20th  of  January,  1415,  he  says  :  "  God 
has  appointed  me  those  for  my  inflexible  enemies,  to  whom  I  have 
shown  much  kindness,  and  whom  I  loved  from  my  very  heart."  4  He 
found  himself  situated  like  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  wrote  the  epis- 
tle to  the  Philippians,  partly  filled  with  forebodings  of  death,  partly 
cherishing  the  expectation  that  God  would  by  his  own  almighty  power 
deliver  him  from  the  prison,  and  bring  him  back  again  to  his  flock. 
However  it  might  turn,  he  was  resigned  to  the  divine  will ;  as  he  says 
in  a  letter  written  on  the  20th  of  January,  1415 :  "  His  will  be  done, 
whether  it  please  him  to  take  me  to  himself,  or  to  bring  me  back  to 
you."5  "At  one  time  God  comforts,  at  another  afflicts  me  —  he 
writes  to  John  of  Chlum  —  but  I  hope  that  he  is  ever  with  me  in  my 
sufferings."  6  "  The  Lord  delivered  Jonas  out  of  the  belly  of  the 
whale  —  he  says  in  another  letter  —  Daniel  from  the  lion's  den,  the 
three  men  from  the  fiery  furnace,  Susanna  from  the  court  of  the  false 
witnesses  ;  and  he  can  deliver  me,  too,  if  it  please  him,  for  the  glory 
of  his  name  and  for  the  preaching  of  the  word.  But,  if  the  death 
comes,  which  is  precious  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  then  let  the  name  of 
the  Lord  be  praised  !  "  7  To  Peter  of  Mladenowic  he  writes  :  "  And 
by  the  grace  of  God,  my  return  to  Prague  is  not  a  thing  impossible ; 
still  I  have  no  desire  for  it,  unless  it  be  according  to  the  will  of  the 
Lord  in  heaven." 8  He  was  filled  constantly  with  a  prophetic  con- 
sciousness, that  whatever  might  be  the  issue  of  his  own  case,  truth  would 
triumph,  and  go  on  to  reveal  itself  more  gloriously  and  mightily ;  as 
he  says :  "  I  hope  that  what  I  have  spoken  in  secret  will  be  proclaim- 
ed on  the  housetops." 9  It  is  remarkable  that  this  prophetic  con- 
sciousness was  reflected  also  in  his  dreams  so  as  to  react  cheerfully 
upon  his  feelings.  He  told  the  following  dreams  which  he  had  in  the 
earlier  times  of  his  imprisonment  to  the  knight  of  Chlum.  He  dreamt 
that  certain  persons  resolved  to  destroy  all  the  pictures  of  Christ  on 
the  walls  of  Bethlehem  chapel ;  and  they  did  it.     On  arising  next 

1  Ibid.  fol.  75,  1 ;  ep.  54.  *  See  Mikowec,  1.  c,  Letter  3.     In  the 

2  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1 ;  ep.  52.  Latin  edition, — opp.  I,  fol.  59,  2;  ep.  10, 

3  He  quotes  the  language  of  Jerome :    —  this  passage  is  wanting 

Plus  vero  in  nobis  ea  tormenta  saeviunt,        *  Mikowec,  Letter  3.     Opp.  I,  fol.  60.  1 : 

quae  ab  illis  patimur,  de  quorum  mentibus  ep.  10. 

praesumebamus.  quia  cum  damno  corporis         6  Opp.  I,  fol.  73,  2;  ep.  51. 

mala  nos  cruciant  amissae  caritatis.    Et        7  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1 ;  ep.  52. 

patet  dolor  meus  ex  parte  Paletz.     Ibid.        8  Ibid.  fol.  66,  2 ;  ep.  29. 

fol.  71,  2 ;  ep.  46.  9  Ibid.  fol.  72,  2  ;  ep.  48. 


DREAM   OF   HUSS.  333 

day  he  beheld  many  painters,  who  had  drawn  more  pictures  and  more 
beautiful  ones  than  there  were  before,  which  he  gazed  on  with  rapture. 
And  said  the  painters  to  the  concourse  of  people  :  Now,  let  the  bishops 
and  priests  come  and  destroy  these  pictures  !  And  a  great  multitude  ot 
people  in  Bethlehem  joyed  over  it,  and  he  rejoiced  with  them,  and 
amidst  the  laughter  he  woke  up.  And  they  had  indeed  already  scat- 
tered it  about  among  many,  that  they  meant  to  destroy  the  inscrip- 
tions on  the  walls.  The  knight  of  Chlum,  in  his  answer  to  this  letter, 
exhorted  him,  first  of  all,  to  dismiss  all  these  fancies  for  the  present, 
and  whatever  else  might  occupy  his  mind,  and  confine  his  attention 
simply  to  one  object,  namely,  how  he  might  best  reply  to  the  articles 
of  complaint.  But,  he  added,  "  The  truth,  which  cannot  deceive,  for- 
bids that  you  should  feel  any  solicitude  about  this  ;  "  and  he  refers  to 
Matthew  10 :  19.  Then,  in  compliance  with  the  invitation  of  Huss, 
he  expounds  his  dream,  as  follows :  "  The  picture  of  Christ  painted 
on  the  wall  of  Bethlehem  chapel  is  the  life  of  Christ  which  we  are  to 
imitate  ;  the  immovable  words  of  Holy  Scripture,  which  are  there  in- 
scribed, are  his  words  which  we  are  to  follow.  The  enemies  of  the 
cross  of  Christ  seek  to  destroy  both  in  the  night,  because  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  has  gone  down  to  them  by  reason  of  their  wicked  lives ; 
and  they  seek  to  bring  both  into  oblivion  among  men.  But,  at  the 
morning  dawn,  when  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arises,  the  preachers 
restore  both  after  a  more  glorious  manner,  proclaiming  that  which  had 
been  said  in  the  ear,  and  was  nearly  forgotten,  from  the  housetops. 
And  from  all  this  will  proceed  great  joy  to  Christendom.  And  though 
the  "  goose  "  is  now  brought  down  by  sickness,  and  may  next  be  laid 
a  sacrifice  on  the  altar,1  yet  will  she  hereafter,  awaking  as  it  were  from 
the  sleep  of  this  life,  with  Him  who  dwells  in  Heaven,  laugh  and  hold 
them  in  derision,  who  are  the  destroyers  at  once  of  Christ's  image  and 
of  Scripture.  Nay,  even  in  this  present  life,  she  will,  with  God's 
help,  still  restore  those  pictures  and  those  words  of  Scripture  to  the 
flock  and  her  friends  with  glowing  zeal."  Huss,  in  his  answer  assures 
the  knight  of  Chlum,  of  his  agreement  with  this  explanation,  and  goes 
on  to  say :  "  Though  Cato  tells  us,  that  we  ought  not  to  care  for 
dreams,  and  though  God's  commandment  settles  it  fast,  that  we  ought 
not  to  pry  into  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  yet  I  hope  that  the  life 
of  Christ,  which,  by  my  preaching  in  Bethlehem,  has  been  transcribed 
upon  the  hearts  of  men,  and  which  they  meant  to  destroy  there,  first, 
by  forbidding  preaching  in  the  chapels  and  in  Bethlehem ;  next,  by 
tearing  down  Bethlehem  itself,  —  that  this  life  of  Christ  will  be  better 
transcribed  by  a  greater  number  of  better  preachers  than  I  am,  to  the 
joy  of  the  people  who  love  the  life  of  Christ,  over  which  I  shall,  as 
the  Doctor  of  Bibrach  says,  rejoice  when  I  awake,  that  is  rise,  from 
the  dead."  2     As  we  may  conjecture  from  Pope  John's  letter  to  the 

1  Wo  have  thus  endeavored   to  make  perhaps  he  rendered :   "  And  though  the 

out  the  sense  of  the  words  which  were  pro-  goose,  offered  upon  the  altar,  is  at  present 

bably  badly  translated  into  Latin.  depressed  on  account  of  the  laying  off  het 

[The  Latin  words  are  :   P^t  auca  licet  in  frail  flesh,  yet  hereafter,  etc. 

ara  posita,  nunc  posita  infirma  carne  tris-  2  Ibid.  fol.  71  ;  cp.  44,  45,  4G 
tabitur,  in  futuro  tamen  etc.,  and  might 


334  HISTORY   OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

commission  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  affair  of  Huss,  it  probably 
had  not  been  intended  at  the  outset  to  grant  him  a  public  hearing,  but 
they  would  have  preferred  to  dispose  of  the  matter  by  private  manage- 
ment ;  the  council  was  to  give  the  final  decision  according  to  the 
report  of  the  committee.  The  proposition  was  made  to  Huss,  that  he 
should  submit  to  the  decision  of  twelve  or  thirteen  masters.  Accord- 
ing to  the  prevailing  church  theory  which  taught  that  the  individual 
must  renounce  his  own  will,  and  submit  to  an  authority  without  him- 
self, it  might  be  expected  that  a  man  would  readily  consent  to  fulfil 
this  duty  of  subordination,  in  respect  also  to  matters  of  conviction. 
But  Huss,  of  course,  with  the  views  which  he  entertained  of  the  rela- 
tion of  every  individual  to  Christ,  and  of  the  rights  of  reason  ground- 
ed in  that  relation,  could  never  accept  such  a  proposition  as  that. 
But  he  submitted  a  protest,  demanding  leave  to  render  an  account  of 
his  faith  before  the  whole  council.1  This  was  the  point  to  secure  which 
the  effort  his  friends  were  ever  most  earnestly  solicited,  and  it  was 
one  which  he  hoped,  through  the  support  of  these  friends  among  the 
Bohemian  knights,  he  should  succeed  in  securing.  He  wished,  as  he 
expressed  it  in  a  petition  addressed  to  the  council  through  the  presi- 
dent of  the  committee,  to  have  the  liberty  either  to  defend  his  doctrine 
after  the  scholastic  fashion  before  the  council,  or  else  to  preach  before 
them.  But  he  did  not  expect  that  the  president  of  that  committee 
would  actually  present  his  petition  to  the  councils  When,  after  he 
had  submitted  his  explanations  on  the  several  articles,  he  was  asked 
whether  he  would  defend  them,  he  threw  himself  in  reference  to  the 
whole  on  the  decision  of  the  council ;  but,  without  doubt,  on  the  pre- 
supposition that  the  council  would  decide  according  to  the  word  of 
God,  and  in  whatever  respects  he  erred,  —  for,  that  he  had  erred  in 
some  respects  he  ever  thought  to  be  possible,  —  would  point  out  his 
error  by  that  word.  So  he  declared,  defending  himself,  perhaps, 
against  the  reproaches  of  friends,  who  may  have  expressed  their  dis- 
satisfaction with  a  submission  so  liable  to  misinterpretation.3  "  Behold, 
I  call  God  to  witness,  that  no  other  answer  seemed  to  me  at  that  time 
more  suitable  ;  for,  I  had  written  it  down  with  my  own  hand,  that 
I  would  defend  nothing,  pertinaciously,  but  was  ready  to  be  taught 
by  any  man." 4  He  expresses  it  as  his  wish,  if  he  should  appear 
before  the  council,  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  have  his  station  near 
the  emperor,  so  that  he  could  hear  and  understand  him  well ;  and 
also  near  to  the  knight  of  Chlum  and  his  other  friends,  "  In  order 
—  he  writes  —  that  you  may  hear  what  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my 
advocate,  counsellor,  and  most  gracious  judge,  will  inspire  me  to  speak, 
and  thus  whether  I  am  suffered  to  live,  or  must  die,  you  may  be  true 
and  well-informed  witnesses,  and  liars  may  not  have  it  to  say  that  I 
deviated  in  the  least  from  the  truth  which  I  preached."  s    He  requests 

1  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1 ;  ep.  52.  in  your  cell.    But  what  has   been  done 

'l  Ibid.  fol.  74,  2  ;  ep.  54.  cannot  be  altered.     Ibid,  fol  72,  1  ;  ep.  47. 

3  Chlum  had  written  to  him  :   "  Your  4  Ibid.  fol.  72,  2  ;  ep.  48. 

friends,    especially   Jesenic,    are   troubled  5  Ibid.  ep.  49. 

on  account  of  the  answer  which  you  gave 


HUSS    DEMANDS   A    PUBLIC    TRIAL.  335 

the  knight  of  Chlum,  to  ask  the  emperor  that  he  might  be  released 
from  his  close  confinement,  so  as  to  be  at  liberty  to  make  suitable  pre- 
paration for  his  public  trial.  "  Pray  the  emperor  —  he  writes  —  that 
for  my  sake,  and  for  the  vindication  of  the  cause  of  justice  and  truth 
to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  advancement  of  the  church,  he  would 
take  me  from  prison,  so  that  I  may  have  liberty  to  prepare  myself  for 
my  public  hearing."  1  Huss  says,  it  was  particularly  urged  against 
him,  that  he  had  hindered  the  announcement  of  the  crusade-bull ; 
that  he  had  continued  for  so  long  a  time  under  the  ban,  and  still  per- 
sisted in  saying  mass ;  that  he  had  appealed  from  the  pope  to  Christ. 
This  appeal,  as  he  writes,  they  read  out  before  him  ;  and  with  joy  and 
a  smile  on  his  lips  he  acknowledged  it  to  be  his.2  When  they,  further- 
more, declared  that  the  opinions  which  he  had  advanced,  and  of  which 
we  have  already  spoken,  concerning  the  right  of  princes  to  deprive 
the  clergy  of  property  which  they  abused,  were  heretical,  Huss  de- 
sired an  opportunity  of  speaking  on  this  particular  point  with  the  em- 
peror. He  might  be  indulging  the  erroneous  idea  that  he  could  come 
to  an  understanding  with  him  on  these  points ;  that  he  could  satisfy 
him  that  he  was  here  defending  the  interest  of  the  state  against  the 
claims  of  the  hierarchy.  The  knights,  says  he,  have  only  to  represent 
to  the  emperor,  that  if  this  article  should  be  condemned  as  heretical, 
he  would  be  obliged  to  condemn  the  acts  of  his  father,  Charles  IV, 
and  his  brother,  Wenceslaus,  who  had  taken  away  temporal  goods 
from  the  bishops.3  He  wished  that  his  writings  in  relation  to  these 
points  might  be  communicated  to  the  emperor,  all  that  he  had  said 
concerning  the  dotation  of  Constantine,  and  on  the  argument  to  prove 
that  tythes  were  nothing  but  alms ;  -1  and  he  was  anxious  also  that  the 
emperor  should  read  his  answers  to  the  45  articles  of  Wycklif.  ■  He 
would  be  glad  to  have  just  a  single  interview  with  the  emperor  before 
he  should  be  condemned ;  since  he  had  come  there  by  his  will  and 
under  the  promise  of  a  safe-conduct,6  glad  if  the  emperor  could  be 
induced  to  show  pity  to  his  own  birth-right,  and  not  suffer  it  to  be  in- 
vaded with  impunity  by  a  malignant  foe,  (by  which  he  may  have 
meant  Paletz  or  Michael  de  Causis).  In  another  letter  he  expresses 
the  same  wish,  that,  in  case  he  obtained  a  public  hearing,  the  emperor 
would  not  suffer  him  to  be  remanded  to  prison,  but  allow  him  liberty 
to  consult  with  his  friends,  and  say  something  to  the  emperor  which 
might  be  of  benefit  to  Christendom,  and  to  the  emperor  himself.7  But 
it  must  be  evident  that  these  hopes  and  wishes  rested  on  a  slender 
foundation,  when  we  fairly  consider  the  emperor's  relation  to  the 
church.  And  Huss  himself,  too,  sometimes  perceived,  no  doubt,  that 
after  what  had  transpired  he  had  nothing  to  expect  from  the  emperor 
in  relation  to  these  matters;  for  he  thus  writes,  in  one  of  his  letters, "I 
am  surprised  that  the  emperor  has  forgotten  me,  and  that  he  does  not 

1  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1 ;  ep.  53.  a  Sab  sua  promissione,  ut  salvus  ad  Bo- 

Ibiil.  fol.  73,  1  ;  ep.  49.  hemiam  redirem ;  ibid.  ep.  54,  fol.  75,  1  — 

3  Ibid.  fol.  74,  2;  ep.  54.  a  proof  how  far  men  were  from  supposing 

*  See  above,  the  document  cited  on  this  at  that  time  that  the  emperors  instrument 

point.  was  a  mere  passport. 

1  Ibid.  fol.  74,  1  ;  ep,  51.  7  Ibid.  fol.  73,  1 ;  ep.  49. 


336  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE.      . 

speak  a  word  for  me  ;  and,  perhaps,  I  shall  be  condemned  before  I 
can  have  a  word  with  him.  Let  him  look  to  it  himself  whether  this  is  to 
his  honor."  In  the  midst  of  his  own  trials,  Huss  was  still  tenderly 
alive  to  the  interests  of  his  friends.  He  besought  the  knight  of  Chlum 
co  use  his  influence  with  the  Bohemian  knights  to  bring  it  about,  that 
a  citation  to  the  adherents  of  Huss,  which  had  been  issued  at  the  in- 
stigation of  Paletz.  should  be  revoked.  He  expressed  the  solicitude 
which  he  felt  for  his  friends  in  Constance,  particularly  for  the  master 
of  Reinstein ;  fearing  that,  by  their  too  free  language,  they  might  bring 
themselves  into  difficulty.  Reinstein  should  be  cautious,  he  wrote  to 
his  friends :  for  those  whom  he  considered  to  be  his  friends  were  more 
probably  spies.  He  had  heard  it  remarked  by  the  commission,  that 
John  Cardinalis  wanted  to  defame  the  pope  and  the  cardinals,  by  in- 
sinuating that  they  were  all  guilty  of  simony.  It  would  be  his  advice 
that  he  should  keep  himself  as  closely  as  possible  attached  to  the  em- 
peror's court,  lest  they  might  get  possession  of  his  person  as  they 
had  done  of  himself.*  To  the  knight  of  Chlum  he  wrote,  entreating 
him  not  to  be  disheartened  at  the  great  expenses  which  he  was  obliged 
to  incur  at  Constance.  "  If  God  delivers  the  goose  from  her  con- 
finement, rely  upon  it,  that  you  shall  never  have  cause  to  regret  the 
expense  you  have  been  at." 2  In  his  confinement,  Huss  composed 
several  small  treatises  of  doctrine  and  ethics ;  either  for  immediate 
practical  use,  as  the  little  tracts  which  he  wrote  at  the  request  of  his 
keepers  for  their  special  benefit,  and  that  of  others  in  like  circumstan- 
ces ;  3  or,  for  the  purpose  of  testifying  his  faith  in  opposition  to  prevail- 
ing suspicions :  his  short  tracts  on  the  Ten  Commandments ;  on  the 
Lord's  Prayer ;  on  mortal  sin ;  on  marriage ;  on  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God  ;  on  the  seven  mortal  sins ;  on  penance  ;  on  the  sacrament 
of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  In  all  his  writings,  Huss  was  accus- 
tomed to  make  great  use  of  the  church  fathers,  and  displays  extensive 
reading  in  that  field.  The  writings  just  mentioned  abound  in  this  sort 
of  learning,  and  yet  he  was  totally  in  want  of  books.  At  first  he  had 
not  even  a  bible  ;  and  was  obliged  to  ask  his  friends  to  procure  him 
one.*  He  says,  indeed,  that  he  had  brought  with  him  the  Sentences 
of  the  Lombard  and  a  Bible  ;  but  he  could  not  have  taken  them  with 
him  into  his  prison.5  Yet  his  citations  from  these  books  are  so  minute- 
ly correct,  that  we  can  hardly  suppose  Huss  depended  wholly  upon 
his  memory.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  he  always  had  by  him  a 
collection  of  excerpts,  made  in  the  time  of  his  earlier  studies.  In  his 
exposition  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  we  may  notice  as  one  thing 
serving  to  mark  the  peculiarity  of  his  theological  point  of  view,  that 
he  applied  the  command  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath-day,  literally  to 
Sunday.  Worthy  of  notice,  too,  is  his  spiritual  conception  of  holiness, 
•which  he  represents  as  consisting  in  the  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Tri- 
une God  and  of  Christ  as  man,  from  which  knowledge  proceeds  love ; 

1  Ibid,  fol  75,  1  ;  ep.  54.  Christi,  de  Matrimonio,  copied  by  Petei 

*  Ibid.  fol.  74]  1 ;  ep.  51.  of  Mladenowic. 
3  He  requests  the  Knight  of  Chlum  to        *  Ibid.  fol.  fol.  29,  2—44,  1. 
have  his  tracts  de  Mandatis,  de  corpora        *  Ibid.  fol.  74 ;  ep.  52  and  53. 


HUSS    COMPOSES   TRACTS   IN   PRISON.  337 

■whence  the  saints  love  God  supremely ;  and  from  love  proceeds  joy  ; 
and  from  knowledge,  love,  and  joy,  proceeds  perfect  satisfaction.1  All 
the  four  principal  mysteries  of  the  Christian  faith  are  set  forth  by  him 
in  his  tract  on  the  Lord's  supper :  the  mystery  of  the  trinity ;  the 
doctrine  of  divine  foreknowledge  and  predestination,2  (whence  it  is 
evident  what  importance  was  attached  by  Huss  to  the  doctrine  of  ab- 
solute predestination)  ;  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  of  the  divine 
Word ;  the  doctrine  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in  the  holy  supper. 
The  devout  remembrance  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  constitutes,  ac- 
cording to  the  view  which  he  here  expresses,  the  spiritual  participa- 
tion of  the  Lord's  supper.3  He  declares  it  to  be  sufficient  for  the  faith 
of  the  simple,  to  believe  that  the  true  body  and  the  true  blood  of 
Christ  are  in  the  holy  supper  —  the  body  in  which  he  was  born,  in 
which  he  suffered,  rose  from  the  dead,  and  ascended  to  heaven.  He 
expressly  testifies  here  his  belief  in  transubstantiation,  which  term  he 
employs.  He  asserts  that,  from  the  beginning,  he  had  taught  in  his 
sermons  the  transformation  of  the  bread,  and  never  the  opposite.  He 
compares  the  perversion  of  his  language  by  his  enemies  with  the  per- 
version of  Christ's  words  by  the  Pharisees.  Only  the  crass  expres- 
sions relating  to  certain  sensuous  affections  to  which  the  body  of  Christ 
was  supposed  to  be  subject  in  the  Lord's  supper,  he  rejects ;  declaring 
that  all  such  affections  related  only  to  the  species  of  the  bread  and 
wine,  —  where  the  doctrine  de  accidentibus  sine  subjecto  evidently  lay 
at  bottom  —  that  doctrine  which,  as  we  have  seen,  Wicklif,  from  his 
own  particular  theological  and  philosophical  position,  condemned  with 
peculiar  abhorrence.  It  is  to  be  remarked  that  Huss  considers  the 
passage  in  John  vi,  as  also  referring  to  the  outward  participation  of  the 
Lord's  supper ;  on  the  ground  of  which  interpretation  the  Hussites 
afterwards  restored,  as  the  ancient  church  had  instituted,  the  commu- 
nion of  infants.  Like  Matthias  of  Janow,  Huss,  too,  encouraged  the 
frequent  participation  of  the  Lord's  supper  among  the  laity ;  and  he 
found  occasion  to  complain  that  even  the  rule  prescribing  the  act  of 
communion  once  a  year  was  not  observed  ;  that  many  received  the 
Lord's  supper  only  at  the  last  extremity,  and  several  not  at  all.  He 
says  of  such :  "  How  shall  these  people  be  ready  to  die  for  Christ, 
who  have  no  pleasure  in  the  food  which  is  best  for  them,  and  which 
has  been  provided  for  them  by  infinite  grace  and  love,  to  enable  them 
to  overcome  all  evil  ?  " 

Meantime,  after  Huss  had  left  Prague,  another  controversy  arose, 
by  occasion  of  which  the  antagonism  to  the  dominant  church  could  not 
fail  to  be  still  more  decidedly  expressed.  This  controversy  related  to 
a  point  which  Huss  had  never  as  yet  made  a  subject  of  particular  in- 
quiry. After  his  own  removal,  the  most  important  theologian  of  his 
party  was  his  friend  Jacob  of  Misa,  or  Mies,  a  parish  priest  attached 
to  the  church  of  St.  Michaels,  commonly  called,  on  account  of  his  di- 
minutive stature,  Jacobellus.     This  person  came  out  openly  in  opposi- 

1  Ibid.  fol.  69,  2;  ep.  37.  ilium  eonsequitur  quietatio.     Ibid.  fol.  31, 

*  Et  cognitionem,  dilectionem  ct  gau-     1.  3  Ibid.  fol.  38,  2. 

VOL.  V.  29 


338  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

tion  to  the  withholding  of  the  cup  from  the  laity  ;  and  insisted  that,  by 
the  institution,  the  holy  supper  in  hoth  forms  should  be  extended  to  the 
laity  also.  It  was  for  a  long  time  currently  reported  that  a  certain  Pe- 
tar,  originally  from  Dresden,  who  had  been  driven,  as  an  adherent  to 
Waldensian  doctrines,  from  his  native  country  and  come  to  Prague, 
was  the  original  means  of  leading  Jacobellus  to  introduce  this  point 
also  among  the  matters  requiring  reform.  This  story  is,  in  itself,  ex- 
tremely improbable.  If  we  consider  that,  in  the  writings  of  Matthias 
of  Janow,  the  necessity  to  the  laity  of  a  complete  participation  of  the 
Lord's  supper  is  assumed  ;  and  if  we  consider  the  great  influence  Mat- 
thias had  on  the  whole  movement,  we  shall  find  it  impossible  to  believe 
that  a  man  who  might  be  a  personal  disciple  of  Matthias  of  Janow,' 
who  at  any  rate  must  have  been,  in  spirit  and  bent,  one  of  his  disciples, 
that  such  a  man  could  need  the  influence  of  an  unknown  Waldensian 
to  direct  his  attention  to  a  subject  which  had  already  been  deemed  of 
so  much  importance  by  his  own  master.  In  contemporaneous  writings 
not  a  word  is  to  be  found  concerning  this  Peter  of  Dresden  ;  in  the  con- 
troversial tracts  on  this  subject  no  mention  is  made  of  him  ;  and  yet  it 
would  from  the  first  have  been  hailed  as  a  very  welcome  fact,  by  the 
defenders  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  cup,  if  they  had  the  least  reason 
whatever  to  trace  the  first  attacks  of  this  practice  to  the  influence  of  a 
man  who  belonged  to  a  sect  so  decried.  This  story  is  found  for  the 
first  time  in  writings  of  opponents  to  the  Hussite  party  some  score  of 
years  later.2  Whether  such  a  person  as  Peter  of  Dresden  ever  existed 
or  not,  his  history  at  all  events  lies  altogether  in  the  dark,  and  we  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him  here  ;  but  it  does  not  admit  of  a  question  that 
the  influence  proceeded  from  Matthias  of  Janow  by  which  Jacobellus 
was  led,  first  in  disputations,  to  come  out  openly,  somewhere  near  the 
close  of  the  year  1414,  against  the  withholding  of  the  cup.  His  argu- 
ments convinced  many  ;  and  he  began  to  reduce  his  theory  to  practice 
as  a  parish  priest,  and  to  distribute  the  holy  supper  once  more,  in  both 
forms,  to  the  laity.  Among  the  adherents  of  Huss,  a  controversy  arose 
on  this  point  ;  for  the  more  practical  bent  of  his  disposition  had  always 
kept  him  from  entering  into  this  question.  His  opinion  was  now  re- 
quested. The  principle  on  which  he  uniformly  went,  of  deciding  every 
question  by  the  law  of  Christ  as  laid  down  in  Holy  Writ,  would  soon 
bring  him  to  a  decision  of  this  question  after  his  attention  had  once 
been  directed  to  it,  and  also  to  a  declaration  of  his  views ;  nor  did  he 
hesitate  to  declare  them  openly,  though  he  could  not  but  foresee  that, 
by  so  doing  he  would  probably  injure  his  own  cause.3  Even  before 
his  imprisonment,  Huss  had  composed  a  small  tract  on  the  question  then 

1  As  Palacky,  p.  332  note  —  remarks,  the  people  that  the  Lord's  Supper  should 
Jacobellus,  a  year  before  the  death  of  be  received  in  both  the  forms.  The  fact, 
Matthias  of  Janow,  in  the  year  1393,  was  indeed,  brought  forward  to  prove  this, 
a  Bachelor  in  Prague  University.  could  prove  nothing  of  the  sort.     It  was 

2  Thus  it  occurs  in  Aeneas  Sylvius  Hist,  that  his  disciples  in  Prague  distributed  the 
Bohemia,  cap.  35,  pag.  52.  elements  thus  :   Patet  iste  articulus,  quia 

3  So  already,  among  the  articles  of  com-  jam  in  Praga  sui  discipuli  ministrant  illud 
plaint  set  forth  by  Michael  de  Causis,  one  sub  utraque  specie.  Hist.  Hussi,  opp.  L, 
was,  that  at  Prague  he  had  preached  to  fol.  6,  1. 


HUSS   AND   THE   FLIGHT   OF  JOHN   XXIII.  339 

in  dispute  ;  and  from  the  collected  declarations  of  the  New  Testament 
and  of  the  ancient  church  teachers  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  al- 
though both  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were  present  under  each  form, 
yet,  because  Christ  would  not  without  special  reasons  have  directed  that 
each  kind  should  be  taken  separately,  it  was  permitted  and  would  be 
profitable  to  the  laity,  to  take  the  blood  of  Christ  under  the  form  of  the 


wme 


Meantime,  on  the  21st  of  March,  occurred  that  event  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken,  the  flight  of  Pope  John,  the  immediate  instru- 
ment by  whom  Huss  had  been  deprived  of  his  liberty.  This  erent  led 
to  an  important  change  in  the  situation  of  the  prisoner.  Huss  perceived 
from  what  transpired  immediately  about  him,  that  something  of  this  sort 
had  occurred.  He  managed  to  get  information  of  the  movements  pro- 
duced by  this  event  in  the  council.  He  ascribed  them  all  to  one  cause, 
that  men  were  attempting  to  effect  an  innovation  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
by  measures  of  human  policy.  "The  council  —  he  writes — is  dis- 
turbed on  account  of  the  flight  of  the  pope,  as  I  believe.  The  reason 
is  this  :  I  have  learned  that,  in  whatever  we  undertake,  God  should 
ever  be  placed  before  human  reason  —  a  lesson  which  they  have  not 
learned."2  The  pope  sent  for  all  his  officers  and  servants  to  meet  him 
at  Schaffhausen.  In  consequence  of  this,  Huss  was  deserted  by  his 
keepers.  No  one  was  left  to  provide  for  his  daily  wants.  He  was  de- 
prived of  the  means  of  subsistence.  He  was  in  constant  fear  lest  the 
marshal  of  the  pope's  court,  who  was  intending  to  follow  his  master, 
would  secretly  take  him  away  with  himself.  Late  in  the  evening  of 
Palm  Sunday,  March  24th,  he  communicated  his  fears  to  the  knight 
of  Chlum,  and  begged  him,  in  conjunction  with  the  Bohemian  knights, 
to  take  measures  to  prevent  this  by  requesting  the  emperor  either  to 
send  him  new  keepers,  or  to  set  him  at  liberty,  lest  he  might  be  to  him 
the  occasion  both  of  sin  and  of  shame.3  The  Bohemian  knights,  who, 
previous  to  these  events  had  never  ceased  pressing  the  emperor  to  set 
Huss  at  liberty,  sought  to  take  advantage  also  of  the  present  juncture.4 
But  the  advocates  of  the  hierarchical  system  exerted  themselves  to  de- 
feat this  purpose  ;  and  after  consultation  with  the  council,  the  emperor 
delivered  Huss  over  to  the  surveillance  of  the  bishop  of  Constance,  who 
at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning  had  him  removed,  in  chains,  to  the  cas- 

1  Licet  et  expedit  laicis  fidelibus  sumere  nant  church  —  a  portion  of  which  has  been 
sanguinem  Christi  sub  specie  vini.  Nam  cited  from  the  manuscript  by  Palacky  — 
licet  corpus  et  sanguis  Christi  sit  sub  utra-  shows  that  the  hierarchical  party  did  at 
que  specie  sacramentali,  tamen  Christus  the  beginning  undoubtedly  fear  that  these 
non  sine  ratione  nee  gratis  instituit  utrum-  circumstances  might  be  taken  advantage 
que  modura  sacramentalem  suis  fidelibus,  of  to  set  Huss  at  liberty.  The  words  are 
sed  ad  magnum  profectum.  De  sanguine  as  follows :  De  Hus  i'uit  periciilum,  ne 
Christi,  opp.  I,  fol.  43,  2.  eriperetur  de  carceribus  ordinis  Praedica- 

2  Ratio,  quia  didici,  quod  omnibus  in  torum,  situati  ultra  muros  civitatis,  quia 
factis  pepgendis  sive  peractis  debet  prae-  custodes  jam  erant  pauci  et  remissi ;  sed 
poni  deus  humanae  rationi.  Ibid.  fol.  75,  ex  diligentia  facta  et  clamore  zelatorum 
1 ;  ep.  55.  fidei,  ex  decreto  concilii,  pracsentatus  est 

3  Ne  habeat  et  peccatum  et  confusion-  ad  quoddam  castrum  et  ad  carcerea  domi- 
em  de  me.     Ibid.  ep.  56.  ni  episcopi  Constanticnsis.     Palacky,  III, 

4  A  letter  written  from  Constance  to  1,  p.  339,  note  448. 
one  of  the  zealous  followers  of  the  domi- 


340  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AXD   DOCTK1NE. 

tie  of  Gottleben.1  In  the  castle  of  Gottleben  the  situation  of  Huss  was 
changed  much  for  the  worse.  His  prison  was  a  tower.  In  the  day- 
time he  was  chained,  yet  so  as  to  be  able  to  move  about  ;  at  night, 
on  his  bed,  he  was  chained  by  the  hand  to  a  post.  Here  he  no 
longer  experienced  that  mild  treatment  from  his  keepers,  which  miti- 
gated the  severity  of  his  former  imprisonment.  His  friends  were  not 
allowed  to  visit  him.  New  attacks  of  disease,  violent  headaches,  he- 
morrhage, colic,  followed  in  consequence  of  this  severe  confinement. 
Speaking  of  this  in  one  of  his  later  letters,  he  says  :  "  These  are 
punishments  brought  on  me  by  my  sins,  and  proofs  of  God's  love  to  me."  2 
In  the  midst  of  these  severe  trials  he  wrote,  shortly  before  Easter,  which 
in  this  year  fell  on  the  31st  of  March,  to  his  Bohemian  friends  at  Con- 
stance :  "  May  the  God  of  mercy  keep  and  confirm  you  in  his  grace 
•and  give  you  constancy  in  Constance  ; 3  for  if  we  are  constant  we  shall 
witness  God's  protection  over  us."  "  Now  for  the  first  time  —  he 
writes  —  I  learn  rightly  to  understand  the  Psalter,  rightly  to  pray, 
and  rightly  to  represent  to  myself  the  sufferings  of  Christ  and  of  the 
martyrs.  For  Isaiah  says  (28:  19),  When  brought  into  straits,  ^e 
learn  to  hear — ;4  or,  What  does  he  know  who  has  never  struggled 
with  temptation  ?  Rejoice,  all  of  you  who  are  together  in  the  Lord ; 
greet  one  another,  and  seasonably  prepare  yourselves  to  partake  wor- 
thily, before  the  passover,  of  the  Lord's  body ;  of  which  privilege,  so 
far  as  it  regards  the  sacramental  participation,  I  am  for  the  present 
deprived,  and  so  shall  continue  to  be  as  long  as  it  is  God's  will.  Nor 
ought  I  to  wonder  at  this,  when  the  apostles  of  Christ  and  many  other 
saints,  in  prisons  and  deserts,  have  in  like  manner  been  deprived  of  the 
same.  I  am  well,  as  I  hope  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  shall  find  myself  still 
better  after  death,  if  I  keep  the  commandments  of  God  to  the  end." 
Since  the  council  no  longer  recognized  as  pope  Balthazar  Cossa,  the 
committee  nominated  under  his  administration  had  no  further  authority 
to  examine  into  the  affair  of  Huss,  and  it  was  necessary  to  appoint  a 
new  one.  This  was  done  on  the  6th  of  April,  1415,  and  the  new  com- 
missioners were  Cardinal  d'Ailly,  Cardinal  St.  Marci,  the  bishop  of 
Dola,  and  the  abbot  of  the  Cistercian  order.  Meantime  the  cause  of 
Huss  assumed  a  worse  aspect  on  account  of  the  distribution  of  the  sacra- 
ment under  both  forms,  which  now  commenced  in  Prague.  This  gave 
rise  to  the  most  injurious  reports,  and  the  whole  blame  had  to  fall  upon 
Huss.  The  bishop  John  of  Leitomysl,  had  made  great  use  of  these  ru- 
mors to  confirm  the  prejudice  against  Huss,  in  his  report  to  the  council 
—  had  stated  that  the  blood  of  Christ  was  carried  about  by  the  laity  in 
flasks,  and  that  they  gave  the  communion  to  each  other.  Upon  this, 
the  Bohemian  knights  present  at  Constance  handed  in  to  the  council, 
on  the  13th  of  May,  a  paper  complaining  in  the  most  violent  language 
that,  contrary  to  all  justice  and  in  violation  of  the  emperor's  word  Huss, 

1  When  Huss  in  the  letter  cited  says  conceal  the  purpose  which  he  had  in  view, 

the  bishop  of  Constance  wrote  him,  that  2  Opp.  I,  fol.  69,  2  ;  ep  37. 

he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him,  3  A  play  on  words :   Det  vobis  constau- 

either  this  must  have  occurred  before  the  tiam  in  Constantia. 

agreement  entered  into  with  the  emperor,  4  Ibid.  fol.  73  ;  ep.  50. 
or  the  bishop  must  have  been  seeking  to 


INTERPOSITION    OF   THE    BOHEMIAN    KNIGHTS    FOR   HUSS.         341 

without  being  heard,  though  he  had  ever  declared  himself  ready  to  an- 
swer to  the  charge  of  heresy,  had  been  harshly  shut  up  in  prison, 
where  he  was  compelled  to  lie  in  fetters  and  supplied  with  the  most 
wretched  fare,  where  he  had  to  suffer  from  hunger  and  thirst,  and  it 
was  to  be  feared  must  in  consequence  of  this  harsh  treatment  become 
disordered  in  mind.  They  complained,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  calum- 
nious charges  set  afloat  against  the  Bohemians  to  the  dishonor  of  their 
nation,  alluding  particularly  to  the  statements  made  by  bishop  John  of 
Leitomysl.  The  16  th  of  May  was  fixed  upon  as  the  time  for  acting 
on  this  matter  ;  on  which  occasion  bishop  John  of  Leitomysl  defended 
himself  against  this  accusation  and  endeavored  to  prove  that  he  was 
right  in  proceeding  as  he  had  done  against  the  propagators  of  the  er- 
roneous doctrines  of  Wicklif  in  Bohemia.  The  Bohemians  did  not 
suffer  the  remarks  of  the  bishop  to  go  unanswered,  and  once  more- 
urged  it  upon  the  council  and  the  emperor  that  a  free  hearing  should 
be  granted  to  Huss.  Finally  they  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  promise 
that  Huss  should  be  trasferred  to  another  prison  in  Constance,  and  that 
he  should  be  allowed  to  speak  for  himself  before  the  council  on  the  5th 
of  June.  The  knight  of  Chlum  announced  the  decree  of  the  council 
to  his  friend  on  the  day  it  was  passed,  the  18th  of  May.  "  This  is  to 
inform  you  —  he  wrote  —  that  the  emperor  with  the  deputies  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  council  was  this  day  assembled,  that  he  spoke  with  them 
about  your  affairs,  and  in  particular  about  granting  you  a  hearing ; 
and  they  at  last  declared  themselves  of  one  mind  that  you  should  ob- 
tain a  public  hearing  ;  your  friends  moreover  urged  that  you  ought  to 
be  in  a  more  pleasant  situation,  so  as  to  be  able  to  collect  and  refresh 
yourself."  He  then  adds,  with  reference  to  the  impending  trial  : 
"  Therefore  for  God's  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  your  own  salvation, 
and  for  the  advancement  of  the  truth,  may  you  never  be  led  to  swerve 
from  that  truth  by  any  fear  of  losing  this  poor  life.  For  it  is  only  to 
promote  your  own  true  good  that  God  has  visited  you  with  this  trial." 
He  then  calls  upon  him,  on  account  of  the  excitement  which  the  con- 
troversy on  the  withdrawal  of  the  cup  had  created  in  Bohemia,  to  ex- 
press his  opinion  with  regard  to  that  matter  on  the  same  sheet,  so  that 
in  due  time  what  he  had  written  might  be  shown  to  his  friends  in  Bo- 
hemia. There  was  a  difference  among  them  on  this  point,  and  they 
had  agreed  to  submit  the  whole  to  his  decision.  Huss  replied  :  "  As  it 
regards  collecting  myself,  I  know  not  for  what  purpose  I  am  to  collect 
myself,  nor  what  other  condition  of  mind  I  should  be  in  ;  for  I  know 
not  to  what  end  the  hearing  is  to  be  granted  me."  Doubtless  he  had 
his  misgivings  whether  he  should  obtain,  after  all,  the  free  hearing 
which  he  demanded  ;  such  a  hearing  as  would  allow  him  to  express  his 
views  before  the  council  in  a  sermon,  or  to  defend  himself,  in  the  way 
of  disputation,  against  the  several  charges, — liberties  which  he  had 
applied  for  in  a  petition.  It  was  only  in  such  case  that  he  could  need, 
beforehand,  any  special  collection  of  mind.  "  I  hope  —  says  he  —  by 
the  grace  of  God,  that  I  shall  never  swerve  from  the  truth  of  which  [ 
have  obtained  the  knowledge."  The  impending  decision  of  his  fate  by 
the  trial  before  the  council,  could  not  induce  him  to  express  himself 

29* 


342  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

otherwise  than  he  had  already  done  on  the  question  respecting  the 
withdrawal  of  the  cup.  He  referred  to  the  paper  he  had  before  drawn 
up,  and  added  :  "  I  know  of  nothing  else  to  say,  than  that  the  gospels 
and  the  epistles  of  Paul  speak  decidedly  for  the  distribution  of  the 
Lord's  supper  under  both  the  forms,  and  that  it  was  so  held  in  the 
primitive  church.'  If  it  can  be  done,  endeavor  to  bring  it  about,  that 
the  administration  of  the  cup  should  be  granted  by  a  bull,  at  least  to 
those  who  require  it  from  motives  of  devotion,  regard  being  had  to 
circumstances."  J 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  June,  that  IIuss  was 
liberated  from  his  oppressive  dungeon  at  Gottleben,  where  directly 
afterwards  his  place  was  taken  by  that  Balthazar  Cossa,  who  had  first 
deprived  him  of  his  liberty.  He  was  next  conveyed  to  Constance,  and 
a  prison  assigned  to  him  in  a  Franciscan  convent.  Here  the  council 
assembled  on  the  5th  of  June  to  investigate  his  affair,  and  to  hear  the 
man  himself,  according  as  it  had  been  promised  him.  Before  Huss 
was  produced,  the  proceedings  were  commenced  by  listening  to  the 
articles  extracted  by  his  adversaries  from  his  writings ;  and  they  were 
upon  the  point  of  making  a  beginning  with  the  condemnation  of  these 
articles.  But  Peter  of  Mladenowic,  secretary  to  the  knight  of  Chlum, 
a  man  enthusiastically  devoted  to  Huss,  hastened  to  give  information 
of  it  to  the  knight  his  master,  and  to  Wenceslaus  of  Duba.  They 
speedily  reported  the  case  to  the  Emperor,  who  at  once  sent  the  Pal- 
grave  Louis  and  the  Burgrave  Frederic  of  Nuremberg  to  the  council, 
directing  them  to  tell  the  prelates,  that  before  the  appearance  of  Huss 
they  should  not  take  a  step  in  his  affair,  and  that  they  should  in  the 
first  place  lay  all  the  erroneous  articles  which  they  found  reason  to 
charge  against  him  before  the  emperor,  who  would  take  pains  to  have 
them  carefully  and  minutely  examined  by  pious  and  learned  men. 
The  two  knights  presented  to  the  council  the  writings,  from  which  the 
erroneous  articles  imputed  to  Huss  were  said  to  have  been  extracted, 
that  the  prelates  might  have  it  in  their  power  to  satisfy  themselves 
whether  those  articles  were  really  contained,  as  expressed  in  the  charges, 
in  his  writings  ;  requiring,  however,  that  the  same  should  be  returned 
again  into  their  hands,  lest,  perchance,  it  might  be  deemed  right  to 
destroy  them  as  heretical.  In  fact,  it  was  afterwards  reported  in  many 
quarters  that  they  were  burned.2  When  Huss  appeared  before  the 
council,  these  writings  were  placed  before  him,  and  he  was  asked 
whether  he  acknowledged  them  to  be  his.  He  said  yes  ;  and  declared 
himself  ready  to  retract  every  expression  in  them  in  which  it  could  be 
shown  that  he  was  in  error.  A  single  article  was  then  read.  Huss 
began  to  defend  it,  cited  many  passages  from  scripture,  and  referred  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  church ;  but  they  exclaimed  that  all  this  was  noth- 
ing to  the  point.  Whenever  he  began  to  speak  he  was  interrupted, 
and  not  allowed  to  utter  a  syllable.     A  savage  outcry  rose  against  him 

1  Opp.  I,  fol.  72,  1 ;  ep.  47  et  48.  meus   restitueretur.     Nam   aliqui   clama- 

*  So  Huss  himself  praises  his  friends  bant :   Comburatur,  et  praesertim  Michael 

for  having  made  this  condition  :  Bene  fac-  de  Causis,  quem  audivi.     Ibid.  fol.  69,  1 ; 

turn  est,  quod  postulaverunt,  ut  eis  liber  ep.  36. 


SECOND   AUDIENCE    OF   HUSS   BEFORE   THE    COUNCIL.  343 

on  all  sides.     At  length,  when  Huss  saw  that  it  was  of  no  use,  that  he 
could  not  be  heard,  he  determined  to  remain  silent.     This  silence  was 
now  interpreted  as  a  confession  that  he  was  convicted.     Finally,  it 
grew  to  be  too  bad  ;  the  moderate  men  in  the  assembly  could  stand  it 
no  longer,  and  as  it  was  impossible   to  restore  order,  it  was  thought 
best  to  dissolve  the  assembly  ;  the  7th  of  June  having  been  fixed  upon 
as  the  time  when  Huss  should  have  his  second  hearing.     On  the  6th 
of  June   Huss  wrote  to  his  friends :  "  To-morrow,  at  noon,  I  am  to 
answer  ;  first,  whether  any  one  of  the  articles  extracted  from  mv  writ- 
ings is  erroneous,  and  whether  I  will   pledge  myself  to  abjure  it,  and 
henceforth  teach  the  contrary :  secondly,  whether  I  will  confess  that  I 
have  preached  those  articles  which  it  shall  be  proved  on  good  testimony 
that  I  have  preached  :  thirdly,  whether  I  will  abjure  these.     May  God 
in  his  mercy  so  order  it,  that  the  emperor  may  be  present  to  hear  the 
words  that  my  gracious  Saviour  shall  be  pleased  to  put  in  my  mouth." 
He  wished  to  have  the  privilege  of  stating  his  answers  in  writing.    Had 
this  been  allowed,  he  would  have   expressed  himself  thus  :  u  I,  John, 
servant  of  Christ,  will  not  declare  that  any  of  the  articles  extracted 
from  my  writings  are  false,  lest  I  condemn  the   declarations  of  holy 
teachers,  and  particularly  of  St.  Augustine.     Secondly,   I   will  not 
confess  that  I  have  asserted,  preached  and  believed  the  articles  of 
which  I  am  accused  by  false  witnesses.     Thirdly,  I  will  not  abjure, 
lest  by  so  doing,  I  subject  myself  to  the  guilt  of  perjury."  '     On  the 
7th  of  June  then,  at  one  o'clock,  Huss  appeared  for  the   second  time 
before  the  council.     On  this  occasion,  the  emperor  Sigismund  was  pre- 
sent, as  Huss  had  ever  desired  that  he  should  be  ;  and  owing  to  the 
hearty  sympathy  they  took  in  the  cause  of  Huss,  the  proceedings  were 
also  attended   by  the  two   above    mentioned  Bohemian  knights,  and 
Peter  of  Mladenowic.     The  first  accusation,  confirmed  by  many  wit- 
nesses was,  that  Huss  denied  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation.     This 
he  could  declare  with  truth,  to  be  a  false  charge.     Cardinal  d'Ailly, 
however,  who  was  a  zealous  nominalist,  engaged  in  an  argument  to 
show  that  Huss  ought,  according  to  his  principles,  to  deny  that  doc- 
trine ;  for  as  he  held  to  the  objective  reality  of  general  conceptions,1 
and  therefore  also  to  the  paneitas  a  parte  rei,  he  could  not  suppose  an 
annihilation  of  the  same  in  any  one  case.     But  Huss  would  not  allow 
that  there  was  any  force  whatever  in  this  reasoning,  for  he  was  of  the 
opinion,  that  though  the  general  conception  might  no  longer  be  really 
present  in  a  particular  substance,  still  it  did  not  cease  on  that  account 
to  retain  its  reality  in  itself,  and  to  be  actualized  in  other  particular 
substances.3      Out  of  this  grew  a  violent  dispute,  in  which  several 
Englishmen  took  part,  as  zealous  opponents  of  the  doctrines  of  Wick- 
lif.     It  was  insinuated  that  the  phraseology  of  Huss  was  suspicious. 

1  Ibid.  fol.  65,  2  ;  ep.  27.  3  His  words  :   Desinit  quidern  esse  in 

2  Huss  himself  explained  this  in  the  hoc  singulari  pane  materiali,  stante  tali 
scum-  that  general  conceptions  were  the  transsnbstantiatione,  cum  ille  tunc  muta- 
original  forms,  first  created  by  God  .  Dixi  tur,  vel  transit  in  corpus  Christi,  vel  trans- 
de  i  ssentia  commnni  creata,  quae  est  pri-  substantiate,  sed  nihilomimis  in  aliis  sin- 
mum  esse  crcatum  communicatum  singu-  gularibus  subjectatur.     Ihid.  fol.  12,  2. 

lis  creaturis.     Ibid.  fol.  62,  2  ;  ep.  15. 


344  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

It  wag  said  that  like  Wicklif,  he  was  seeking  to  deceive  by  his  language. 
Whatever  he  taught  must  be  heresy.  The  same  wild  outcries  com- 
menced which  had  interrupted  the  first  hearing.  But  the  emperor, 
who  was  present,  commanded  silence  ;  and  during  the  stillness  which 
succeeded,  Huss  took  the  opportunity  to  exclaim  with  a  loud  voice  so 
that  all  could  hear  :  "  I  should  have  expected  to  find  more  sobrietv, 
order  and  decency  prevailing  in  such  an  assembly,"  Said  the  president 
of  the  council,  the  cardinal  archbishop  John  de  Brogny  of  Ostia  ad- 
dressing Huss,  "At  thy  trial  in  the  castle,  thou  showedst  thyself  more 
humble."  Huss  replied :  "  Neither  was  there  there  any  such  out- 
cry." i  Still  one  of  the  Englishmen  had  the  justice  and  good  sense  to 
declare,  "  that  it  was  better  to  drop  these  wranglings  about  realism 
and  nominalism,  since  they  did  not  belong  to  the  place,  these  disputes 
having  nothing  to  do  with  the  faith ;  and  the  word  of  Huss  ought  to 
be  believed,  when  he  said  that  he  acknowledged  transubstantiation."2 
Huss  moreover  perceived  what  had  given  occasion  to  the  perversion  of 
his  language  by  his  opponents  regarding  the  doctrine  of  transubstanti- 
ation, when  following  the  words  of  Christ  he  simply  spoke  of  the  fact, 
that  Christ  himself  is  the  soul's  true  bread.3  The  dispute  on  the  doc- 
trine of  transubstantiation  having  come  to  an  end,  Cardinal  Francis 
Zabarella  took  up  the  word  and  said  to  Huss,  "  Thou  knowest,  master 
Huss,  that  by  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  should 
be  established ;  but  now  as  thou  seest  thou  hast  against  thee  the  testi- 
mony of  twenty  men  or  thereabouts,  men  who  ought  to  be  believed,  and 
of  the  highest  consideration,  some  of  whom  have  themselves  heard 
thee  teach,  while  others  testify  to  what  they  have  heard   and  to  the 

1  On  comparing  the  Historia  Hussi  and  is  singular  that  the  same  thing  should  he 

the  several  statements  in  the  letters  of  done  also  hy  Palacky,  who  is  generally  so 

Huss,  regarding  his  trials,  there  is  some  exact,  unless  he  found  reason  for  so  doing 

difficulty  in  determining  whether  this  oc-  in  the  original  record  of  Mladenowie,  and 

curred  on  his  first  or  his  second  hearing,  in  the  Bohemian  original  text  of  the  let- 

For,  we   can   hardly  suppose   that   what  ters  of  Huss,  which  we  can  know  nothing 

Hues  here  says,  and  what  the  president  about.     To  he  sure,  Huss,  in  his  letter  in 

of  the  council   replies   to  him,   occurred  Mikowec's  collection,  (p.  22),  remarks  that 

twice.    But  the  account  of  the  eye-witness  this  took  place  at  the  first  hearing.     But 

in  the  Historia  Hussi,  who  makes  no  men-  we  must  necessarily  correct  this  statement, 

tion  of  it  at  all,  leaves  no  room  for  us  to  to  avoid  a  contradiction  which  would  oth- 

suppose,   that   the    ahove    declaration    of  erwise  occur  in  the  letters  of  Huss  himself, 

Huss  was  made  at  the  first  hearing;  for  by  the  earlier  and  more  exact  account;  for 

here  it  is  said  expressly  that  Huss  at  length  this  last  letter  was  written  on  the  26th  of 

remained   silent.     And,   in    the   letter  of  June. 

Huss,  (ep.  15;  fol.  62,  2)  where  everything         2  The  words  of  the  Englishman    are  : 

is  exactly  related,  and  in   all  probability  Quorsum  haec  de  universalibus  disputa- 

immediately  after  the  hearing,  what  is  said  tio,  quae  ad  fidem  nihil  facit  ?    Ipse,  quan- 

of  the  dispute  concerning  the  doctrine  of  turn  audio,  recte  sentit  de   sacramento  al- 

transubstantiation,  can  have  occurred,  as  is  taris.     Opp.  I,  fol.  12,  2. 
evident  from  comparing  the  Hist.  H.,  only         3  Huss  himself  says  at  his  trial :   Oaete- 

during  the  second  hearing.     But  this  is  so  rum  hoc  se  fateri,  cum  archiepiscopus  Pra- 

nearly  connected  with    the   narrative   of  gensis  omnino  prohibuisset  uti  illo  termi- 

v/hat   Huss   said,  and  what  the  president  no  panis,  tunc  se   hoc  edictum  episcopi 

replied,  that  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as  a  non  potuisse  probare,  quia  Christus  ipse 

very  arbitrary  procedure,  to   separate  the  in  VI,  cap.  Joann.  undecies  se  nominave- 

two  remarks  as  to  the  time  when  they  Were  rit  panem  angelorum,  qui  de  coelo  descen- 

made,  and  place  one  in  the  first,  and  the  disset,  ut  toti  mundo  vitam  daret,  sed  de 

other  in  the  second  hearing,  as  has  been  pane  materiali  se  nunquam  dixisse.    Ibid, 
done  by  V.  d.  Hardt,  (IV,  pag.  307).     It 


SECOND  APPEARANCE  OF  HUSS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL.    345 

common  report.  And  all  furnish  the  strongest  grounds  of  evidence  for 
their  statements.  We  must  therefore  believe  them.  I  see  not  how 
thou  canst  still  maintain  thy  cause  against  so  many  distinguished  men." 
To  this  Huss  replied  :  "  But  I  call  God  and  my  conscience  to  witness 
that  I  have  not  so  taught,  and  that  it  never  entered  my  mind  so  to 
teach  as  these  persons  have  the  hardihood  to  say  that  I  have,  testify- 
ing against  me  what  they  never  heard.  Were  there  a  great  many 
more  still,  I  esteem  the  testimony  of  my  God  and  of  my  conscience, 
higher  than  the  judgments  of  all  my  adversaries,  about  which  I  do  not 
trouble  myself."  The  cardinal  answered  :  i  "  We  cannot  judge  by 
thy  conscience,  but  must  be  content  with  the  very  firm  and  confident 
testimony  of  these  men.  For  not  from  any  hatred  or  enmity  to  thee, 
as, thou  affirmest,  do  they  offer  this  testimony,  but  they  give  such  rea- 
sons as  betray  no  sign  of  hatred,  and  leave  us  no  room  to  doubt."  2 
So  strongly  biassed  is  the  cardinal,  that  he  cannot  or  will  not  see  the 
trace  of  a  spiteful  distortion  of  the  words  of  Huss,  even  in  Paletz,  but 
believes  that  Huss  wrongs  him  altogether,  and  that  if  Paletz  had 
altered  the  words  of  Huss,  he  had  altered  them  into  a  still  milder 
sense  than  they  had  in  their  original  connection.  Besides,  he  felt  par- 
ticularly annoyed  that  Huss  should  presume  to  cast  suspicion  on  Chan 
cellor  Gerson,  than  whom  a  more  excellent  man  was  not  to  be  found  in 
all  Christendom.  The  next  accusation  was  that  Huss  had  obstinately 
defended  the  heretical  doctrines  of  Wicklif.  Huss  replied,  that  he 
had  taught  neither  the  errors  of  Wicklif,  nor  those  of  any  other  man. 
If  Wicklif  had  taught  errors  in  England,  this  was  the  concern  of  the 
English.  But  his  resistance  to  the  condemnation  of  the  forty-five  ar- 
ticles of  Wicklif  was  adduced  in  proof  of  the  charge  that  he  defend- 
ed his  doctrines,  to  which  he  replied :  The  form  in  which  those  ar- 
ticles were  all  unconditionally  condemned  was  one  to  which  his 
conscience  would  not  permit  him  to  assent ;  but  in  particular  he  could 
not  consent  to  the  condemnation  of  the  article  that  Constantine  had 
erred  in  making  that  dotation,  and  Sylvester  in  accepting  it.  The  ar- 
ticle and  also  the  proposition  of  which  we  have  spoken  on  a  former 
page,  that  a  priest  chargeable  with  mortal  sin,  could  not  baptize  nor 
consecrate  the  Lord's  supper,  he  modified  by  saying  that  such  an 
onedidit  in  an  unworthy  manner,  and  was  but  an  unworthy  ministerof  the 
sacraments ;  and  in  spite  of  all  the  contradictions  of  his  opponents,  he 
asserted  that  in  no  other  sense  was  the  article  to  be  found  in  his  writ- 
ings ;  and  he  proved  this  against  Paletz  to  ocular  inspection  by  com- 
paring the  propositions  ascribed  to  him  with  his  book  which  was  pro- 
duced. Furthermore  he  frankly  acknowledged  that  he  had  not  dared 
to  agree  in  condemning  the  article  which  affirmed  that  tythes  were  to 
be  considered  as  alms.  Cardinal  Zabarella  now  argued  to  refute  him. 
He  said  that  "  it  belonged  to  the  nature  of  an  alms  that  it  should  be 
given  voluntarily,  and  not  by  obligation  ;  but  the  paying  of  tythes  was 

1  [According  to  the  marginal  note  in  the  lows,  is  not  Zabarella  the  Cardinalio  Flo- 

Historia  Joann.  Hus  fol.  13,  1,  and  per-  rentinus,  hut  Peter  d'  Ailly  the  Cardinalifl 

haps  also  according  to  the  words  them-  Cameracensis.] 

selves,  the  cardinal  here,  and  in  what  fol-  a  Ibid.  fol.  13,  1. 


346  HISTORY    OP    THEOLOGY    AND     DOCTRINE. 

founded  on  an  obligation.  Zabarella  went  on  the  principles  of  ecclesias- 
tical law ;  but  Huss  proceeded  only  on  ethical  principles  ;  hence  he 
could  not  admit  the  premises  in  Zarabella's  argument,  for  he  maintained 
that  alms-giving  too  was  a  matter  of  moral  obligation.  Men  were  bound, 
on  pain  of  damnation,  to  observe  those  six  works  of  mercy  which  Christ 
mentions  in  Matt.  25:  35,  36  ;  and  yet  these  are  alms.  It  was  a  part 
of  the  scholastic  sophistry  of  those  times,  for  parties  to  engage  in  dis- 
pute without  taking  any  pains  first  to  settle  with  each  other  the  differ- 
ent meaning  of  terms.  Next  an  English  archbishop  displayed  the  sub- 
tlety of  his  logic  by  the  following  argument  against  Huss  :  From  this 
it  would  follow  that  the  poor,  who  cannot  give  alms  for  want  of  means, 
must  be  damned.  Huss  replied  :  That  he  spoke  only  of  those  that  had 
the  means.  And  he  went  on  to  assert  that  the  tenths  had,  in  the  be- 
ginning, been  an  entirely  voluntary  thing  ;  and  were  not  made  obliga- 
tory until  a  long  time  afterwards.  This  he  proposed  to  show  more  at 
large,  but  was  not  permitted.  Huss  then  said  that,  in  general,  all  he 
had  ever  demanded  was,  that  proofs  should  be  drawn  from  holy  Scrip- 
ture to  justify  the  condemnation  of  the  propositions  of  Wicklif  which 
were  to  be  condemned.  He  entered  into  a  full,  calm,  and  sober  ac- 
count of  the  whole  course  of  the  disputes  on  the  writings  of  Wicklif 
and  of  his  own  personal  concern  in  the  matter,'  until  the  time  of  his 
appeal  to  Christ.  The  question  was  then  put  to  him  whether  the  pope, 
then,  had  given  him  leave  to  break  away  from  his  own  jurisdiction  and 
appeal  to  another  tribunal ; 2  and  whether  it  was  permitted  to  appeal  to 
Christ  ?  To  this  Huss  replied  :  "  This  I  openly  maintain,  before  you  all, 
that  there  is  not  a  more  just  nor  a  more  effectual  appeal  than  the  ap- 
peal to  Christ ;  for  to  appeal  means,  according  to  law,  nothing  but  this  : 
in  a  case  of  oppression,  from  an  inferior  judge  to  invoke  the  aid  of  a 
higher  one.  And  now  what  higher  judge  is  there  than  Christ  ?  Who 
can  get  at  the  truth  of  a  cause  in  a  more  righteous  and  truthful  man- 
ner than  he  ?  for  he  cannot  be  deceived,  neither  can  he  err  ?  Who 
can  more  easily  afford  help  to  the  poor  and  oppressed  ?"  But  this  was 
language  which  the  council  could  not  understand  ;  and  it  was  received 
with  laughter  and  scorn.  Furthermore,  it  was  charged  against  him, 
that  to  introduce  his  heresies  among  the  unlearned  and  simple,  he  had 
given  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  doings  at  that  notorious  earthquake- 
council,3  and  represented  it  as  a  judgment  of  God  in  favor  of  Wicklif;  < 
that  he  had  said,  as  we  have  observed  on  a  former  page,  he  wished  his 
soul  to  be  where  Wicklif 's  soul  was.     In  reply  to  the  first,  Huss  said 

1  Which  account  we  have  already  avail-        3  See  above,  page  162. 

ed  ourselves  of  in  the  preceding  narrative.        *  Illico   ostium   ecclesiae  fulmine   rup- 

2  The  words :  Habueritne  absolution-  turn  est,  ita  ut  adversarii  Wicleff  aej;re 
em  ?  These  words  may  indeed  also  mean :  sine  incommodo  evaserint.  Opp.  I,  fol. 
Has  been  absolved  by  the  pope  %  Yet  the  14,  1.  As  such  facts,  especially  in  the 
connection  is  in  favor  of  the  interpretation  contests  between  parties,  are  very  apt  to 
which  I  have  given  in  the  text;  so  that  be  represented  in  an  exaggerated  manner 
the  question  relates  to  an  ukoKvtikov  on  in  tradition  according  to  the  passions  of 
the  part  of  the  pope,  or  of  the  so-called  the  particular  individuals,  so  it  is  quite 
apostoli ;  and  this  besides  is  altogether  possible  that  the  story  in  the  present  case 
characteristic  of  the  positive  spirit  of  his  was  somewhat  exaggerated  as  it  was  told 
judges.  among  the  Wieklitites. 


SECOND  APPEARANCE  OF  HUSS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL.     347 

nothing,  and  it  may  perhaps  have  been  true  ;  nor  would  it  be  anything 
strange  that  one  so  favorably  inclined  to  Wicklif  and  so  biassed  against 
his  opponents  should  hold  such  a  story  to  be  true,  and  look  upon  the 
whole  thing  as  a  judgment  of  God.  With  regard  to  the  second,  Huss 
said1  he  did  not  deny  that,  twelve  years  before  the  theological  writings 
of  Wicklif  were  known  in  Bohemia,  he  had  made  himself  familiar  with 
some  of  that  writer's  philosophical  writings  which  greatly  pleased  him ; 
and  as  he  had  been  informed  on  good  authority  of  the  uprightness  of 
Wicklif's  life,  so  he  had  let  fall  the  words :  "  I  hope  John  Wicklif  is  in 
heaven.  But  although  I  did  entertain  the  fear  that  he  might  be 
damned,  yet  I  could  still  express  the  hope  that  my  soul  might  be 
where  the  soul  of  Wicklif  was."  Again,  these  words  of  Huss,  uttered 
with  his  peculiar  conscientiousness,  and  in  entire  consistency  with  his 
views  of  the  doctrines  of  absolute  predestination  and  subjective  justifi- 
cation, were  received  with  derision.  It  was  objected  to  him,  again, 
that  he  had  invited  the  people  by  the  posting  up  of  public  notices,  to 
resort  to  the  sword  against  their  adversaries.  But  he  could  appeal  to  it 
as  a  fact,  that  he  had  spoken  in  his  sermons  only  of  spiritual  weapons  ; 
and,  aware  of  the  disposition  among  some  to  pervert  his  words,  had 
taken  special  pains  to  point  out  that  he  was  not  speaking  of  a  fleshly 
but  of  the  spiritual  sword.  He  was,  moreover,  accused  of  having  fo- 
mented schism  in  Bohemia  between  the  spiritual  and  the  secular  power, 
and  caused  the  expulsion  of  the  Germans  from  the  university  of  Prague. 
He  vindicated  himself  from  this  charge,  by  giving  the  true  account  of 
the  whole  course  of  the  affair,  as  we  have  stated  it  on  a  former  page. 
Paletz  alleged  against  Huss,  that  not  only  Germans  but  Bohemians 
were  banished.  But  Huss  could  prove  that  this  had  occurred  during  his 
absence.  For  as  we  have  seen  before,  he  certainly  was  not  present  at 
Prague  when  those  men  of  the  theological  faculty  were  banished.  One 
thing  characteristic  of  these  disputes  was  the  pains  taken  to  raise  sus- 
picions against  the  sayings  and  doctrines  of  Huss  in  a  political  point  of 
view,  and  thus  to  excite  against  him  the  prejudices  of  the  ruling  pow- 
ers. So  we  may  interpret  d'Ailly  when,  speaking  loud  enough  to  be 
heard  by  the  emperor,  he  said  to  Huss  :  "  When  you  were  first  brought 
before  us,  I  heard  you  say2  that  if  you  had  not  proposed  of  your  own 
accord  to  come  to  Constance,  neither  the  emperor  nor  the  king  of  Bo- 
hemia could  have  compelled  you  to  come."  Thereupon  Huss  said  his 
language  had  been  this  :  "  If  he  had  not  been  disposed  to  come  there 
of  his  own  accord,  so  many  of  the  knights  in  Bohemia  were  his  friends 
that  he  might  easily  have  remained  at  home  in  some  safe  place  of  conceal- 
ment, so  that  he  never  could  have  been  forced  to  come  there  by  the 
will  of  those  two  princes.  At  this,  Cardinal  d'Ailly  exclaimed,  in  an 
angry  tone  :  "  Mark  the  impudence  of  the  man  !  "  And  a  murmur 
of  disapprobation  arising,  the  noble  knight  of  Chlum  spoke  out  in  con- 

1  We  have  already  on  a  former  page  nalists.  But  in  respect  to  the  exact  num- 
found  it  probable,  that  Huss  had  first  been  her  of  years  Huss  might  easily  be  mis- 
led to  think  favorably  of  Wicklif  by  his  taken  at  such  a  trial. 

intimacy  with  the  philosophical  writings         2  Which   may  have  probably  occurred 

of  the  latter  relating  to  the  general  con-  when  Huss  first  appeared  before  the  pope 

troversy  between  the  realists   and    nomi-  and  the  cardinals. 


348  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

firmation  of  what  Huss  had  said  :  "  Compared  with  other  kn;ghts  — 
said  he  —  I  have  but  little  power  in  Bohemia ;  yet  I  could  protect  him, 
for  a  whole  year,  against  all  the  power  of  these  two  sovereigns.  How 
much  more  could  be  done  by  others,  who  are  more  powerful  than  I, 
and  hold  the  stronger  castles !  "  After  these  words  of  the  knight, 
d'Ailly  was  not  disposed  to  go  any  farther  into  this  matter,  but  said  to 
Huss  :  "  I  advise  you  to  submit,  according  to  your  promise  while  in 
prison,1  to  the  sentence  of  the  council.  By  so  doing  you  will  provide 
best  both  for  your  welfare  and  your  honor."  Taking  up  the  remark  of 
d'Ailly,  the  emperor  said  :  Though  it  was  reported  that  Huss  had 
not  received  his  safe-conduct  from  the  emperor  till  fourteen  days  after 
his  imprisonment,2  the  emperor  could  prove,  by  the  testimony  of  many 
princes  and  persons  of  rank,  that  he  had  received  the  safe-conduct  be- 
fore leaving  Prague,  from  the  hands  of  the  knights  Wenceslaus  of  Duba 
and  John  of  Chlum,3  and  full  liberty  was  secured  to  him  of  defending 
himself  and  giving  an  account  of  his  faith  before  the  council  ;  and  this 
promise  had  been  well  fulfilled  by  the  prelates,  for  which  the  emperor 
had  all  reason  to  thank  them  ;  although  many  said  the  emperor  did 
wrong  in  granting  protection  to  a  man  who  was  a  heretic,  or  suspected 
of  heresy.  The  emperor,  therefore,  would  now  give  Huss  the  same  ad- 
vice with  Cardinal  d'Ailly.  Let  him  defend  nothing  obstinately  ;  but 
with  regard  to  all  that  was  brought  against  him  and  had  been  confirmed 
by  credible  witnesses,  let  him  submit,  with  becoming  obedience,  to  the 
authority  of  the  council.  If  he  did  this,  the  emperor  would  see  to  it 
that,  for  his  own  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  his  brother  Wenceslaus  and 
of  the  whole  Bohemian  empire,  he  should  be  dealt  with  by  the  council 
in  a  lenient  manner,  and  let  off  with  a  slight  penance  and  satisfaction  ; 
if  not,  the  leaders  of  the  council  would  know  what  they  had  to  do  with 
him ;  the  emperor  would  never  undertake  to  protect  his  errors  ;  he 
would  sooner  prepare  the  faggots  for  him  with  this  his  own  hands  than 
suffer  him  to  go  on  any  longer  with  the  same  obstinacy  as  before.  To 
this  Huss  replied  :  "  In  the  first  place  I  thank  your  majesty  for  the  safe- 
conduct."  And  as  he  was  now  invited  and  charged  by  the  knight  of 
Chlum  to  defend  himself  against  the  reproach  of  obstinacy,  which  had 
been  cast  upon  him,  he  said :  "  I  call  God  himself  to  witness  that  it  never 
entered  my  thoughts  to  defend  anything  obstinately,  and  that  I  came 
here  voluntarily  and  of  my  own  accord  with  the  purpose  of  changing 
my  opinion  without  any  hesitation,  if  I  should  be  taught  better." 
Huss  was  then  placed  under  the  care  of  the  bishop  of  Riga  and  con- 
ducted back  to  his  prison.  The  same  day  Huss  wrote  to  his  friends  in 
Constance,  respecting  this  examination  :  "  The  Almighty  God  gave  me 
today  a  strong  and  courageous  heart.  Two  of  the  articles  of  complaint 
against  me  have  been  abandoned.     I  now  hope,  by  the  grace  of  God, 

1  Without   doubt   in   reference  to  that  arrive  till  after  that  had  taken  place, 
conditionally  understood  submission;  the  3  Which,  to  be  sure,  is  at  variance  with 
implied  condition,  however,  being  ignored,  the  statement  of  Huss  himself,  (see  above), 

2  It   appears,   accordingly,    that   many  that  he  set  out  on  his  journey  without  a 
sought  to  excuse  the  imprisonment  of  Huss  safe-conduct. 

by  asserting  that  his  safe-conduct  did  not 


SECOND  APPEARANCE  OF  HUSS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL.     349 

that  several  others  besides  will  be  abandoned.  They  cry  out,  nearly 
all  of  them,  like  the  Jews  against  our  Master  Christ."  He  says  that, 
among  the  whole  multitude  of  the  clergy  he  had  not  a  single  friend  ex- 
cept one  Pole  whom  he  knew,  and  the  father.  By  the  father  is  prob- 
ably meant  that  remarkable  secret  friend  of  Huss,  who  subsequently 
was  so  active  in  endeavoring  to  bring  about  a  compromise  between  him 
and  the  council,  and  of  whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  say  more 
hereafter.  "  0  —  he  wrote  —  if  a  hearing  were  granted  me,  in  which 
I  could  reply  to  such  arguments  as  they  might  bring  against  the  arti- 
cles contained  in  my  treatises  ;  then,  believe  I,  would  many  of  those 
who  cry  out,  be  compelled  to  be  dumb.  As  God  in  heaven  wills,  so  let 
it  be." l  Again  Huss  wrote  :  Let  all  the  Bohemian  knights  apply 
to  the  emperor  and  council  and  demand  that  as  the  emperor  and  council 
had  promised,  he  might  in  the  next  audience  briefly  state  what  he  had  to 
retract,  at  the  same  time  giving  his  explanations.  2  Thus  the  emperor 
and  council  would  fulfil  this  promise  too,  as  they  might  be  forced  to  do 
if  held  to  their  own  words.  "  I  will  then  speak  out  —  he  writes  —  the 
truth  without  reserve  ;  for  rather  would  I  be  consumed  by  the  fag- 
gots, than  kept  so  miserably  concealed  by  them ;  for  then  all  Christen- 
dom would  learn  what  I  finally  said."  To  Chlum,  whom  he  called  his 
most  trusty  patron,  he  wrote  :  "  May  God  be  your  rewarder.  I  desire 
that  you  would  not  leave  the  council  till  you  have  seen  the  end." 
"  0  —  says  he  —  much  would  I  prefer  that  you  should  see  me  led  to 
the  stake,  than  that  I  should  be  so  treacherously  kept  in  the  dark.  I 
still  have  hopes  that  Almighty  God,  through  the  merit  of  the  saints, 
may  deliver  me  out  of  their  hands."  He  begged  his  friends  to  let  him 
know  when,  on  the  next  morning,  he  should  be  led  forth  to  trial.  He 
desired  them  all  to  pray  for  him  that  if  he  must  await  death  in  prison, 
he  might  be  endued  with  patience.  He  lamented  that  he  had  not  been 
able  to  repay  many  of  them  for  their  services,  and  sent  to  request  that 
they  would  be  content,  and  excuse  him  on  the  ground  of  his  want  of 
ability.  He  knew  not  who  was  to  repay  those  who  had  lent  him  money 
in  Bohemia,  unless  it  were  the  Master  Christ,  on  whose  account  they 
had  lent  it  to  him.  Still  he  expresses  the  wish  that  some  of  the  more 
wealthy  would  settle  up  his  affairs  and  pay  his  poorer  creditors. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Huss  was  conducted  to  his  third  examination. 
The  articles  of  charge  were  read  over  in  their  regular  order,  together 
with  the  answers  which  he  had  given  to  them  at  his  private  examina- 
tions in  prison.  They  were  more  particularly  articles  said  to  have  been 
extracted  from  his  book  De  Eecleda.  With  regard  to  some  of  them 
Huss  acknowledged  that  the  assertions  imputed  to  him  were  his,  and 
added  a  few  words,  either  to  establish  them,  or  to  guard  them  against 
misapprehension  ;  but  with  regard  to  the  majority  of  them,  he  did 
nothing  of  the  sort,  being  confident  of  proving  either  that  they  were 
not  contained  in  his  writings,  or  that  they  were  altered  by  being  rent 
from  their  connection  or  purposely  misconstrued.      We  may  notice 

'  Opp.  I,  fol.  69,  2  ;  ep.  36.  occurred  in  this  second  hearing,  and  seems 

5  We  should  from  these  words  of  Huss     to  have  been  left  out  in  the  report  of  Mla- 
complete,  therefore,  the  account  of  what     denowic. 
VOL.    V.  30 


350 


HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 


in  particular  the  fifth  article,  relative  to  his  doctrine  concerning  the 
church,  which  we  have  already  explained,  and  which  stood  closely 
connected  with  his  doctrine  of  predestination.     He  was  reported   to 
say,  that  dignity,  choice  of  man,  visible  signs,  made  no  one  a  member 
of  the  church.     Huss  while  in  prison  had  acknowledged  this  assertion 
to  be  one  contained  in  his  book ;  and  in  confirmation  of  its  truth  had 
added :    All  depends  here  on  defining  what  is  meant  by  being  in  the 
church  and  a  member  of  the  church  ;   and  this  depends  on  predestina- 
tion.    Predestination  was  the  divine  counsel,  whereby  grace  was  pre- 
pared for  men  in  this  life,  and  glory  in  the  future  life.     Distinctions 
of  rank,  human  choice,  visible  signs,  did  nothing  of  this  kind.     Judas 
Iscariot,  notwithstanding  he  was  chosen   by  Christ,  notwithstanding 
the  temporal  gifts  of  grace  which  he  received,  and  notwithstanding  the 
opinion  which  the  multitude  had  of  him,  was  no  true  disciple  of  Christ, 
but  a  wolf  in  sheep's-clothing.     His  assertion  that  no  "  praescitus  " 
was  a  member  of  the  church,  he  proved  by  many  authorities  from  Ber- 
nard and  Augustin.     Furthermore,  the  tenth  article  :    "  If  he  who  is 
called  the  vicar  of  Christ  copies  after  his  life,  he  is  his  vicar ;  but,  if 
he  takes  the  opposite  course,  he  is  a  messenger  of  Antichrist,  stands 
in  contradiction  with  Peter  and  Christ,  and  is  a  vicar  of  Judas  Isca- 
riot.      Huss  confirmed  this  proposition,  citing  it  as  it  really  stood  in 
his  books,  and  in  confirming  it,  referred  to  a  passage  from  Bernard's 
work  De  Consideratione.     When  this  was  read,  the  prelates  looked  at 
each  other,  shook  their  heads,  and  laughed.     The  twelfth  article  was : 
that  the  papal  dignity  took  its  origin  from  the  Roman  emperors.    Huss 
added  in  confirmation  of  this,  that  the  Emperor  Constantine  conferred 
this  dignity  on  the  bishop  of  Rome,  and  it  was  afterwards  confirmed  by 
the  other  emperors ;  that,  as  the  emperor  was  the  first  among  princes, 
the  pope  was  the  first  among  bishops,  in  reference,  namely,  to  earthly 
honor  and  earthly  goods.     Yet  the  papal  dignity  had  its  origin  direct- 
ly from  Christ,  so  far  as  it  regarded  the  spiritual  dignity,  and  the  call 
to  the  spiritual  guidance  of  the  church.     Cardinal  d'Ailly,  in  oppos- 
ing this,  appealed  to  the  sixth  canon  of  the  council  of  Nice,  according 
to  the  common  interpretation ;  and  asked  Huss  why  he  had  not  de- 
rived this  rather  from  the  decree  of  the  council  than  from  the  empe- 
ror ?     But  Huss  stood  firm  to  his  assertion,  that  the  dignity  was  first 
derived  from  the  gift  of  Constantine.     The  22nd  article  related  to  the 
important  principle,  important  in  reference  to  ethics  laid  down  by  Au- 
gustin in  opposition  to  Pelagianism,  that  in  moral  judgments  every- 
thing depends  on  the  intention,  the  intentio  oeulus  animi ;  hence  the 
opposition  generally  between  the  godlike  and  the   ungodlike  life :  — 
the  state  of  grace  where  everything  is  determined  by  the  same  funda- 
mental relation  to  the  temper  ;  the  general  bent  of  the  life  is  one  well- 
pleasing  to  God ;   every  natural  affection  is  ennobled,  and  the  man 
whether  he  eat  or  drink  does  everything  to  the  glory  of  God  ;  or  the 
opposite  temper  of  alienation  from  God,  —  the  ground-tone  of  the  life 
is  either  love  or  selfishness.     Now,  while  Huss  had,  with  Augustin 
and  Jovinian,  given  prominence  to  the  unmediated  antithesis  alone,  as 
grounded  in  the  idea  or  the  principle,  d'Ailly,  on  the  other  hand, 


THIRD  APPEARANCE  OF  HUSS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL.     351 

held  to  the  empirical  view,  and  considered  the  Christian  as  he  actually 
appears,  with  the  sinful  element  still  cleaving  to  him  ;  and  in  opposition 
to  Huss  he  remarked  :  "  Yet  holy  Scripture  says  we  all  sin  ;"  and  ad- 
verting to  the  words,  1  John  1:  8,  he  said  :  "  so  then  it  would  follow 
from  this,  that  we  sin  continually."  To  this  Huss  replied :  "  Holy  Scrip- 
ture speaks,  in  such  places,  of  remissible  sins,  which  the  moral  temper 
at  bottom  does  not  quite  exclude  from  the  man,1  but  which  may  per- 
haps exist  along  with  it."  The  article  was  read  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken  on  a  former  page,  that  whenever  a  king,  pope,  bishop 
lay  under  a  mortal  sin,  he  was  neither  king,2  pope,  nor  bishop.  Huss 
had,  in  his  answer,  explained  this  as  meaning  that  such  a  person  was 
not  so  in  a  worthy  manner,  in  the  sight  of  God.  But  in  so  doing,  he 
had  expressly  taken  care  not  to  deny  the  objective  validity  of  any  sacra- 
mental act  performed  by  such  a  prelate  ;  such  a  person  was  only  an 
unworthy  minister  of  the  sacraments,  through  whom  Christ  himself  bap- 
tized and  consecrated.  At  the  time  this  was  read,  the  emperor  stood 
by  a  window,  and  by  him  the  Palgrave  Louis  and  the  Burgrave  Frede- 
ric of  Nuremberg  ;  and,  after  much  conversation  about  Huss,  he  said  : 
"  There  never  was  a  more  mischievous  heretic."  On  these  words  be- 
ing read,  which  torn  from  their  connection  might  be  interpreted  as  tend- 
ing to  the  overthrow  of  all  civil  power  and  order,  the  emperor's  atten- 
tion was  called  to  them,  and  he  caused  them  to  be  repeated.  And  this 
too  doubtless  made  an  impression  on  the  emperor.  He  said  :  "  Yet 
no  man  living  is  without  sin."  But  Cardinal  d'Ailly  exclaimed  indig- 
nantly to  Huss  :  "  Did  it  not  satisfy  thee  that  thou  soughtest  by  thy 
writings  and  discourses  to  bring  into  contempt  and  to  overthrow  the 
spiritual  order;  wilt  thou  now  seek  also  to  push  kings  from  their  thrones?" 
Then  a  disputation  arose  between  Paletz  and  Huss,  turning  on  this : 
that  in  the  explication  of  conceptions  objective  and  subjective,  worthi- 
ness conditioned  on  moral  qualities,  and  lawfully-existing  orders  inde- 
pendent of  these  qualities,  were  not  duly  distinguished  ;  for  which  Huss 
had  really  given  occasion  enough  in  the  way  in  which  he  had  stated  the 
distinction.  If  Huss,  instead  of  merely  holding  fast  to  what  he  had 
paradoxically  expressed,  had  in  his  answer  explained  the  matter  with 
more  clearness  and  precision,  he  would  thereby  have  guarded  against 
many  a  falsely  reasoned  conclusion,  which  proved  injurious  to  his  cause. 
Paletz,  for  example,  observed  with  regard  to  a  case  cited  by  Huss,  that 
Saul  was  nevertheless  king,  though  he  had  heard  those  words  of  Sam- 
uel ;  and  David  too  had  prevented  the  slaying  of  Saul,  not  on  account 
of  the  holiness  of  Saul's  life,  a  quality  in  which  he  was  utterly  deficient, 
but  on  account  of  the  holiness  that  proceeded  from  his  anointing.  And 
when  Huss  cited  a  passage  from  Cyprian  to  the  effect  that  he  was  falsely 
called  a  Christian  who  did  not  follow  Christ  in  his  daily  walk,  Paletz 
replied  :  "  Mark  the  simplicity  of  the  man,  who  quotes  what  has  no- 
thing to  do  with  the  subject.  For  suppose  one  not  to  be  truly  a  Chris- 
tian ;  is  he  therefore  not  truly  a  pope,  bishop,  or  king  ?  for  "these  lat- 

1  Quae  non  expellunt  habitura  virtutis        2  In  reference  to  this  he  appeals  to  1 
ab  homine.    Fol.  18,  1.  Sam.  15:  11. 


352  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

ter  are  names  of  office,  but  the  term  Christian  is  a  designation  of  char- 
acter. And  accordingly  one  may  be  truly  a  pope,  bishop,  or  king 
without  being  a  true  Christian."  Thereupon  Huss  answered :  "  Then  if 
John  was  a  true  pope,  why  have  you  deposed  him  from  his  office  ?"  Here 
the  emperor  struck  in  :  "  The  council  has  lately  declared  that  John 
was  a  true  pope ;  but  on  account  of  the  crimes  by  wdiich  he  soiled  the 
papal  dignity,  and  on  account  of  his  squandering  away  the  property  of 
the  church,  they  have  deposed  him."  A  passage  being  now  cited  which 
was  pointed  directly  against  the  lawfulness  of  the  condemnation  of  the 
forty-five  propositions  of  Wicklif,  Cardinal  d'Ailly  exclaimed  :  "  But 
thou  hast  said  thou  wouldst  not  defend  any  of  the  propositions  of  Wick- 
lif; yet  it  now  appears  from  thy  writings  thou  hast  openly  defended 
his  propositions."  Huss  replied  :  "  I  say  the  same  that  I  said  before, 
that  I  will  defend  the  errors  neither  of  Wicklif  nor  of  any  other  man. 
But  because  it  seemed  contrary  to  my  conscience  to  consent  uncondi- 
tionally to  their  condemnation,  where  no  reason  was  produced  for  it 
from  Scripture,  I  was  unwilling  to  join  in  condemning  them  ;  and  be- 
cause the  different  qualifications  introduced  would  not  suit  all  the  dif- 
ferent propositions."  When  the  article  was  read  which  denied  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  visible  head  to  the  church,  where  the  words  occurred  that 
Christ  would  guide  the  church  better  without  such  monsters  of  supreme 
heads,  by  means  of  his  true  disciples  scattered  through  all  the  world, 
the  prelates  said :  "  Mark,  he  now  puts  on  the  prophet !"  In  confirma- 
tion of  what  he  had  said,  Huss  now  added :  "  Yes,  I  say  it,  that  the 
church  under  the  apostles  was  infinitely  better  governed  than  it  is  at 
the  present  time.  And  what  hinders  that  Christ  should  not  better  gov- 
ern by  his  true  disciples,  without  such  monsters  of  supreme  heads  as 
they  now  are  ?  And  mark,  we  have  no  such  supreme  head  at  present, 
and  yet  Christ  does  not  cease  to  govern  his  church."  This  remark 
also  excited  a  laugh.  Again,  among  the  articles  was  one  in  which,  in 
certain  cases,  the  right  was  conceded  to  laymen  of  passing  judgment 
on  the  acts  of  prelates.  Next  came  the  article  which  accused  Huss  of 
having  said  that  he  was  going  to  Constance  ;  and  if  for  any  cause  what- 
ever he  should  recant  anything  he  had  previously  taught,  he  thought 
he  never  could  do  it  from  honest  conviction,  because  all  he  had  taught 
was  in  conformity  with  the  true  and  sound  doctrine  of  Christ.  Huss 
could  only  declare  that  all  this  was  pure  fabrication :  and  doubtless  he 
intimated  that  a  letter  which  he  had  written  to  his  community  at  Prague 
probably  gave  occasion  to  the  calumny.1  Among  the  articles  now  brought 
forward  against  Huss,  were  to  be  found  those  also  which  originated 
with  Chancellor  Gerson,  and  which  had  already  been  laid  before  Huss 
in  prison.  To  Gerson,  Huss  could  not  appear  otherwise  than  as  a  here- 
tic, since  he  refused  to  acknowledge  the  immutable  and  divine  right  of 
the  hierarchy,  and  since  to  him  he  seemed  to  invite  the  people  to  rebel- 
lion against  the  church.  He  had  already,  in  the  year  1414,  called 
upon  Conrad  of  Vechta  to  see  to  it  that  the  heresies  of  Huss  should  be 

1  Thus  he  complains  above,  that  this     mies,  and  that  many  statements  in  it  had 
letter  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  ene-     been  falsified  and  distorted. 


THIRD  APPEARANCE  OF  HUSS  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL.     853 

punished  by  the  secular  power,  on  these  points.  He  was  still  wholly 
entangled  in  the  old  ecclesiastical  law.  The  civil  magistracy  seemed  to 
him  called  and  bound  to  punish  heretics  like  other  transgressors,  and 
so  render  them  harmless.  "Miracles  —  so  Gerson  thought  —  ought 
not  to  be  required  for  the  confirmation  of  the  ancient  church  doctrines ; 
the  authority  of  councils,  the  utterances  of  all  the  church  teachers, 
were  sufficient.  To  these  common  authorities  every  individual  should 
submit  his  private  judgment.  He  who  hears  not  this  voice,  would  not 
hear  though  one  should  rise  from  the  dead."  So  he  interprets  Christ's 
words  in  the  parable  of  Lazarus.  "It  only  remains,  then  —  he  pro- 
ceeds —  to  employ  the  secular  sword  against  those  who  will  not  hear 
the  voice  of  the  church."  >  Gerson's  articles  against  Huss  related  to 
the  notion  of  the  church,  the  definition  of  it  as  the  community  of  the 
elect,  the  denial  of  the  necessity  of  a  visible  head,  the  way  in  which 
Huss  seemed  to  have  made  the  dignity  of  the  pope,  the  king,  etc.,  de- 
pend on  the  subjective  worth  of  the  individual.  In  what  sense  Huss 
intended  this  to  be  understood,  Gerson  does  not  stop  to  inquire.  Such 
propositions,  without  further  explanation,  were  easily  liable,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  be  interpreted  as  countenancing  revolution  ;  for  example,  the 
proposition  that  no  praescitus  belonged  to  the  church,  no  man  who  did 
not  follow  the  life  of  Christ ;  that  whoever  led  a  good  life,  after  the 
pattern  of  Christ,  should  publicly  teach  and  preach,  even  though  not 
empowered  so  to  do  by  his  ecclesiastical  superiors  ;  nay,  even  though 
he  were  prohibited  by  them,  or  though  they  pronounced  him  under  the 
ban  ;  just  as  he  could  and  must  give  alms  ;  because  that  calling  which 
is  founded  on  a  good  life  and  knowledge  was  sufficient.  In  reference 
to  the  assertion  that  no  praescitus  was  a  true  pope,  bishop,  king,  etc., 
Gerson  remarked  :  "  To  maintain  such  an  error  is  madness  ;  it  is  in- 
surrectionary, leading  to  the  overthrow  of  every  civil  constitution  ; 
because  no  one  knows  whether  he  belongs  to  the  number  of  the  elect 
or  the  reprobate  (a  doctrine  in  which,  as  we  have  seen,  Huss  agreed 
with  Gerson),  and  because  we  all  offend  in  many  parts  of  our  duty. 
All  government  would  be  an  unsettled,  uncertain  thing,  were  it  made  to 
depend  on  the  fact  that  he  who  exercised  it  belonged  among  the  elect 
and  had  attained  to  the  position  of  Christian  love.  And  Peter  must 
have  been  wrong  in  enjoining  it  on  servants  to  be  obedient  even  to  bad 
masters.  The  university  of  Paris,  in  their  declaration  drawn  up  by 
Gerson,  where  they  invite  the  council  to  the  extirpation  of  mischievous 
errors,  added  :  "  Though  in  these  propositions,  we  may  recognize  a  cer- 
tain zeal  against  the  vices  of  the  clergy,  which  to  our  sorrow  we  must 
confess  have  gotten  too  much  the  upper  hand,  yet  it  is  not  a  zeal  joined 
with  knowledge.  A  prudent  zeal  tolerates  while  it  sighs  over  the  sins 
which  it  observes  in  the  house  of  God  but  cannot  destroy.  The 
evil  spirits,  however,  will  not  be  driven  out  by  Beelzebub,  but  only  by 
the  finger  of  God,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost."  The  want  of  Christian 
prudence  is  objected  to  Huss.2     When  now  all  the  charges  had  been 

'  Extracts  from  die  letter  of  Gerson,  in        2  The  pain  and  indignation  manifested 
Du  Boulay  Hist.  Univ.  Paris  V,  269.  by  Huss  at  these  particular  unifies  of  Ger- 

30* 


854  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

brought  forward,  Cardinal  d'Ailly  said  to  Huss  :  "  Thou  hast  heard 
how  many  and  what  abominable  charges  are  brought  against  thee. 
Therefore  it  is  thy  duty  to  consider  what  thou  intendest  to  do.  Two  ways 
are  proposed  to  thee  by  the  council,  of  which  thou  must  needs  choose 
one.  First,  that  thou  shouldest  submit  thyself  suppliantly  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  council,  and  bear  without  murmuring  whatever  it  may 
please  to  ordain.  If  that  is  done,  we  shall,  out  of  regard  to  the  two 
sovereigns  and  from  our  desire  for  thy  welfare,  proceed  against  thee  with 
all  gentleness  and  humanity.  But  if  thou  still  proposest  to  defend 
some  of  the  articles  which  have  now  been  laid  before  us,  and  demand- 
est  to  be  heard  still  further,  we  shall  not  deny  thee  this  privilege. 
But  thou  must  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  here  men  of  so  much  weight 
and  so  much  knowledge,  that  have  so  well  settled  and  strong  reasons 
against  thy  articles,  that  I  fear  it  will  redound  to  thy  great  injury,  to 
thy  great  danger  if  thou  undertakest  to  defend  them  yet  longer.  I 
speak  this  in  the  way  of  exhortation,  and  not  as  thy  judge."  Others, 
taking  up  these  words  of  d'Ailly,  exhorted  Huss,  each  after  his  own 
fashion.  He  answered,  with  a  profound  expression  of  humility :  "  Reve- 
rend fathers  !  I  have  already  often  said  that  I  came  here  voluntarily, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  defending  anything  obstinately,  but  of  cheerfully 
submitting  to  be  taught  better  if  in  anything  I  have  erred.  I  beg, 
therefore  that  opportunity  may  be  allowed  me  to  explain  my  opinions 
further.  And  if  I  do  not  adduce  good  and  true  reasons  for  them,  then 
I  will  gladly,  as  you  require,  submit  to  be  instructed  by  you."  Here 
some  one  said  aloud  :  "  Mark,  how  cunningly  he  speaks !  He  says 
'  instructed,'  not  '  corrected,'  not '  decided.'  "  "  Nay,  as  you  please 
—  rejoined  Huss  —  let  it  be  instruction,  correction,  or  decision  ;  for  I 
call  God  to  witness,  that  I  speak  nothing  but  from  the  heart."  Then, 
said  d'Ailly,  taking  Huss  at  his  word,  yet  overlooking  the  condition 
which  was  ever  present  to  his  mind  :  "  Since  thou  dost  submit  thyself 
to  the  instruction  and  mercy  of  the  council,  know  that  this  has  been 
resolved  upon  by  near  sixty  doctors,  of  whom  some  have  already  gone 
away,  whose  places  have  been  taken  by  the  Parisians ;  and  it  has  been 
confirmed  unanimously  by  the  council  :  First,  that  thou  humbly  de- 
clarest  that  thou  clidst  err  in  those  articles  that  have  been  produced 
against  thee  ;  next,  that  thou  promisest,  on  thy  oath,  neither  to  hold 

son.  which  were  laid  before  him  while  in  lead  to  the  consequences  which  had  been 

prison,  are  well  worthy  of  remark.    It  may,  drawn  from  them.     In  the  letter  already 

perhaps,  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact,  quoted,  written  before  Easter,  he  remarks 

that  he  was  conscious  of  being  so  very  far  in  reference  to  the  articles  of  complaint 

from    intending  any  of  those  practically  brought  against  him   by  Gerson  :    O  that 

mischievous    consequences  which   Gerson  God  would  grant  me  time  to  write  against 

deduced  from  his  doctrines,  ami  yet  must  the  falsehoods  of  the  Parisian  chancellor, 

see  that  there  might  be  some  reason  for  ap-  who  was  not  afraid  to  accuse  his  neighbor 

prehending  them  in  the  form  in  which  he  of  error  so  insolently  and  so  unjustly  be- 

had  expressed  these  propositions.     Hence  fore  so  vast  a  multitude.     But,  perhaps, 

may  have  arisen  in  him  the  wish  to  have  God  will  interrupt  the  writing  by  his  death 

an  opportunity  of  replying  to  Gerson  in  or  my  own,  and  better  decide  the  cause 

writing,  so  as  to  present  his  doctrines  in  before  his  tribunal  than  I  could  do  by  any 

their  true  sense,  to  confirm  them  by  their  writings  of  mine.     Opp.  fol.  73,  2  ;  ep.  50. 

agreement  with  Augustin,  and  to  guard  Compare  also  the  passages  quoted  on  pre- 

them  against  being  so  understood  as  to  ceding  pages. 


THIRD   APPEARANCE    OP   HUSS    BEFORE   TIIE    COUNCIL.  355 

nor  to  teach  such  opinions  any  longer ;  thirdly,  that  thou  dost 
publicly  recant  all  those  articles."  When  many  had  spoken  much 
to  the  same  purport,  Huss  finally  said  :  "  I  repeat,  that  I  am  ready 
to  be  instructed  by  the  council ;  but  I  beseech  and  conjure  you  by 
him  who  is  the  God  of  us  all,  that  you  do  not  force  me  to  what  I  can- 
not do  without  contradicting  my  conscience,  and  without  danger  of  eter- 
nal damnation,  that  you  do  not  force  me  to  renounce,  upon  my  oath, 
all  the  articles  which  have  been  brought  against  me.  For  I  know  that 
to  abjure  means  to  renounce  a  previously  cherished  error.  As  now 
many  articles-  have  been  imputed  to  me,  which  to  hold  or  to  teach 
never  entered  my  thoughts,  how  can  I  renounce  them  by  an  oath  ? 
But  as  regards  those  articles  which  really  belong  to  me,  I  will  cheer- 
fully do  what  you  require,  if  any  one  can  persuade  me  to  another  opin- 
ion." Upon  this,  the  emperor  said  :  "  Why  mayest  thou  not,  with 
good  conscience,  renounce  all  that  has  been  charged  upon  thee  by  false 
witnesses  ?  I  do  not  hesitate  to  abjure  all  possible  errors  ;  yet  from 
this  it  by  no  means  follows  that  I  have  ever  taught  such  errors." 
Huss  replied :  "  Most  gracious  emperor !  the  word  abjure  means  some- 
thing different  from  that  which  your  majesty  expresses  by  it."  And 
Cardinal  Zabarella  here  remarked  :  "  There  will  be  handed  thee  a 
tolerably  mild  form  of  abjuration  ;  and  then  thou  canst  easily  make  up 
thy  mind,  whether  thou  wilt  make  it  or  not."  We  shall  be  able,  per- 
haps,  hereafter  to  find  some  clue  to  the  form  of  recantation  which  the 
cardinal  had  in  mind  ;  and  this  will  lead  us  to  divine  a  remarkable  secret 
connection  in  the  train  of  events.  The  emperor  then  spoke  again, 
repeating  the  language  of  d'Ailly  :  "  Thou  hast  heard  that  two  ways 
are  proposed  to  thee, — first,  that  thou  shouldest  publicly  renounce 
those  doctrines  which  have  now  been  publicly  condemned,  and  submit 
thyself  to  the  judgment  of  the  council ;  which  if  thou  doest,  thou  wilt 
experience  the  mercy  of  the  council.  But  if  thou  dost  persist  in  de- 
fending thy  opinions,  the  council  will  no  doubt  understand  how  to  deal 
with  thee  according  to  the  laws."  Huss  now  said  to  the  emperor  : 
"  Most  gracious  emperor,  I  make  no  resistance  to  anything  the  council 
may  decide  with  regard  to  me.  I  except  but  one  thing  —  doing  wrong 
to  God  and  to  my  own  conscience,  and  saying  that  I  have  taught  er- 
rors which  never  entered  into  my  thoughts.  But  I  entreat  that  liberty 
may  be  granted  me  from  you  to  explain  my  opinions  still  farther,  so  as 
to  give  a  sufficient  answer  to  some  things  objected  to  me  ;  namely, 
concerning  the  offices  of  the  church."  But  the  same  that  had  al- 
ready been  said  was  repeated  by  others  and  by  the  emperor.  "  Thou 
art  old  enough  —  said  the  emperor  —  and  canst  not  fail  to  understand 
what  I  said  to  thee  yesterday  and  today.  We  cannot  do  otherwise  than 
believe  trustworthy  witnesses.  If,  according  to  Scripture,  by  two  or 
three  witnesses  every  word  shall  be  established,  how  much  more  shall 
this  hold  good  where  the  witnesses  are  so  many  and  so  great  men. 
If  then  thou  art  reasonable,  thou  wilt  accept  with  contrite  heart  the 
penance  appointed  thee  by  the  council,  and  renounce  manifest  errors, 
and  promise  on  thy  oath  never  to  hold  forth  the  like  for  the  future  ; 
if  not,  there  are  laws  according  to  which  thou  wilt  be  judged  by  the 


356  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

council."  One  of  the  prelates  now  spoke  and  said,  We  ought  not  to 
believe  even  the  recantation  of  Huss,  since  he  had  written  that  though 
he  recanted  he  would  reserve  his  private  conviction.1  Huss  stood  firmly 
to  his  earlier  declaration.  Paletz  was  rfor  showing  that  Huss  contra- 
dicted himself,  in  protesting  that  he  defended  no  error,  and  no  error 
of  Wicklif,  while  however  in  his  discourses  and  writings  he  defended 
errors  of  Wicklif  ;  if  he  denied  this,  such  writings  of  his  could  be 
laid  before  the  council.  The  same  was  said  by  the  emperor ;  and  to  this 
Huss  replied  :  "  Gladly  would  I  have  it  done  ;  and  could  wish  that 
not  these  merely,  but  other  books  of  mine  might  be  laid  before  the 
council."  Several  other  charges  connected  with  the  Hussite  move- 
ments in  Prague,  were  then  laid  against  Huss.  We  will  repeat  none 
of  these,  as  we  have  already  spoken  of  the  same  matters  in  narrating 
the  events  themselves.  One  thing  only  needs  to  be  mentioned,  as  serv- 
ing to  give  us  a  clearer  insight  into  the  character  of  the  proceedings 
against  Huss,  to  show  how  no  means  were  left  untried  to  procure  his 
condemnation,  and  what  presence  of  mind,  what  power  of  faith  the  man 
must  have  possessed  ;  what  resolution,  what  summoning  of  every  en- 
ergy was  required  on  his  part  when,  after  having  suffered  so  long  and 
so  severe  an  imprisonment,  where  *he  had  passed  through  so  much  sick- 
ness and  experienced  so  much  that  must  have  grieved  and  depressed 
his  spirit,  and  after  having  been  kept  awake  through  the  whole  preced- 
ing night  by  tooth-ache,  he  was  compelled,  in  that  long  trial,  to  reply 
to  such  ar\  unimaginable  variety  of  attacks  and  surmizes  from  so  many 
different  quarters.  At  this  time,  after  all  the  charges  had  been  brought 
against  Huss,  Paletz  had  the  effrontery  to  step  forward  and  say  :  "  I 
call  God  to  witness,  in  presence  of  the  emperor  and  of  all  the  prelates 
here  assembled,  that  in  these  complaints  against  Huss  I  have  been  ac- 
tuated by  no  hatred,  no  ill  will  towards  him  ;  I  have  only  felt  bound  to 
the  due  discharge  of  my  doctor's  oath."  The  same  said  Michael  de 
Causis.  Hereupon  Huss  declared  :  "  But  I  commend  all  this  to  our 
Father  in  heaven,  who  will  righteously  judge  the  cause  of  both  parties." 
And  Cardinal  d'Ailly  was  biassed  enough  by  the  interests  of  the 
church  party  to  express,  as  he  had  before  done,  his  admiration  of  the 
mildness  of  Paletz,  who  he  said  might  have  cited  things  a  great  deal 
worse  than  he  had  done  from  the  writings  of  Huss.  But  when  Huss, 
worn  down  and  completely  exhausted,  was  led  back  to  his  prison,  the 
noble-hearted  knight  of  Chlum  hastened  to  visit  him,  under  the  full  in- 
fluence of  the  impression  made  by  his  appearance  and  defence  of  him- 
self, and  seizing  his  hand  pressed  it  in  a  way  which  must  have  told 
more  than  words.  Huss  himself  describes  the  effect  which  this  testi- 
mony of  friendship  made  at  such  a  time,  produced  on  his  mind  :  "  0, 
what  joy  did  I  feel  —  he  writes  —  from  the  pressure  of  my  lord  John's 
hand,  which  he  was  not  ashamed  to  give  me,  the  wretched  outcast  here- 
tic, in  my  chains."2 

As  regards  the  further  proceedings  of  the  council  in  this  affair  of 

1  See  what  Huss  says  in  the  letter  al-         s  Opp.  I,  fol.  68,  2 ;  ep.  33. 
ready  quoted  concerning  this  perversion 
of  his  language. 


ACTION   OF   THE    COUNCIL   AFTER   THE   TRIAL   OF   HUSS.  357 

IIuss,  it  remains  for  us  to  say,  that  the  emperor,  after  the  defendant 
had  been  removed,  made  a  proposition  to  the  council,  declaring  to 
them,  that  IIuss,  as  had  been  clearly  proved  by  many  witnesses,  had 
taught  so  many  pernicious  heresies,  that  he  deserved,  in  his  judgment, 
and  for  some  of  them  singly,  to  perish  at  the  stake ;  but  though  he 
should  recant,  he  never  should  be  allowed  to  preach  or  to  teach  again, 
nor  permitted  to  return  to  Bohemia ;  for,  owing  to  the  great  number 
of  his  adherents  in  that  country,  it  would  be  easy  for  him  to  excite 
anew  still   more  violent  commotions,  and  the  evil  would  only  grow 
worse.      The  emperor,  furthermore,  advised  that  those  doctrines  of 
of  Huss,  on    which  the    council  had    pronounced    sentence    of  con- 
demnation, should  be  made  known  throughout  Bohemia,  Poland,  and 
other   countries,  where    those   heresies    had   found  admittance ;    and 
that  the  spiritual  and  secular  powers  in  those  lands  should  be  called 
upon  to  cooperate  in  bringing  to  punishment  those  who  taught  such 
doctrines.     Severe  measures,  also,  should  be  taken  against  the  adher- 
ents to  the  Hussite  doctrines,  who  were  to  be  found  in  Constance.     As 
we  have  already  said,  several  persons  in  the   council,  seizing  upon 
those  words  of  Huss,  in  which  he  humbly  professed  himself  ready  to 
be  instructed  and  to  recant,  without  taking  them  in  his  own  sense  with 
the  condition  which  he  presupposed,  were  led  to  entertain  the  hope, 
that  Huss  might  yet  be  persuaded  to  recant ;  and  for  this  reason  the 
final  decision  of  his  fate  was  put  off",  and  several  attempts  were  made 
to  persuade  him  to  recantation.     But  even  in  this  case  it  was  thought 
not  advisable,  and  the  emperor  himself  had  expressed  the  same  opin- 
ion, that  he  should  be  restored  to  full  liberty.     Not  without  reason,  it 
was  supposed  that  Huss  would  still  never  deviate  from  the  main  direc- 
tion which  he  had  alwaj^s  taken.     The  council  had  drawn  up  a  resolu- 
tion with  regard  to  Huss  in  case  he  should  recant,  by  which  little  more 
was  granted  him  than  barely  permission  to  live.     It  ran  as  follows : 
Since  it  is  evident  on  the  ground  of  certain  conjectures  and  outward 
signs,  that  Huss  repents  of  the  sins  he  has  committed,  and  is  disposed 
to  return  with  upright  heart  to  the  truth  of  the  church,  therefore  the 
council  grants  with  pleasure,  that  he  may  abjure  and  recant  his  heresies, 
and  the  heresies  of  Wicklif,  as  he  voluntary  offers  to  do,  and  as  he 
himself  begs  the  council  to  release  him  from  the  ban  which  had  been 
pronounced  on  him  ;  so  he  is  hereby  released.     But  inasmuch  as  many 
disturbances  and  much  scandal  among  the  people  have  arisen  from  these 
heresies,  and  inasmuch  as  great  danger  has  accrued  to  the  church  by 
reason  of  his  contempt  of  the  power  of  the  keys,  therefore  the  council 
decrees,  that  he  must  be  deposed  from  the  priestly  office,  and  from  all 
other  offices.     The  care  of  seeing  to  the   execution  of  this   decree  is 
assigned  to  several  bishops  at  the  council,  and   IIuss  was  to  be  con- 
demned to  imprisonment  during  life  in  some  place  appointed  for  that 
purpose.1 

Huss  himself  was  entirely  ignorant  of  these  transactions  within  the 
council ;  and  being  resolved  not  to  recant  till  convinced  of  his  errors, 

1  V.  d.  Hardt,  IV.'pag.  432  and  433. 


358  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

after  what  he  had  heard  expressed  at  the  council,  he  had  nothing  else 
in  prospect  but  the  stake,  and  nothing  to  wait  for  but  the  decision  of 
his  fate.  Accordingly,  with  these  expectations,  he  wrote,  on  the  10th 
of  June,  a  letter  to  Bohemia,  which  he  addressed  to  persons  of  all 
conditions,  rich  and  poor,  men  and  women.  He  exhorts  them  in  the 
first  place,  faithfully  to  adhere  to  the  truth  which  he  had  always  set 
before  them  from  the  law  of  God ;  but,  if  anything  had  ever  been 
uttered  or  written  by  him  contrary  to  divine  truth,  he  entreated  them 
not  to  follow  him  in  that  thing.  Furthermore,  if  any  person  had  ever 
observed  any  lightness  in  his  words  or  his  actions,  he  begged  such  per- 
son not  to  lay  it  up,  but  pray  God  the  Lord,  that  he  would  forgive  him 
for  it.  He  gives  them  admonitions  suited  to  every  condition ;  to  the 
knights,  burgher,  and  artisans  ;  to  masters  and  students.  He  recom- 
mends to  them  the  knights  who  had  so  faithfully  stood  by  him  at  the 
council  of  Constance  :  who  had  spoken  with  such  boldness  and  energy 
for  his  cause  and  for  his  liberation,  and  particularly  Wenzel  of  Duba, 
and  John  of  Chlum.  These  would  furnish  them  the  most  reliable 
information  with  regard  to  all  the  proceedings.  He  ends  and  subscribes 
the  letter  as  follows  :  "  I  write  this  letter  in  prison  and  in  chains, 
expecting  on  the  morrow  to  receive  my  sentence  of  death,  full  of  hope 
in  God,  that  I  shall  not  swerve  from  the  truth,  nor  abjure  errors  im- 
puted to  'me  by  false  witnesses.  What  a  gracious  God  has  wrought  in 
ine,  and  how  he  stands  by  me  in  wonderful  trials,  all  this  you  will  first 
understand  when  we  shall  again  meet  together,  with  our  Lord  God, 
through  his  grace,  in  eternal  joy."  He  moreover  commends  to  the 
people  of  Prague  the  care  of  Bethlehem  Church,  against  which  the 
fury  of  satan  had  been  particularly  directed,  because  from  it  especially 
had  gone  both  the  destruction  of  his  kingdom,  and  the  building  up  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  He  expresses  the  wish  that  God  would  send 
them  a  man  as  his  successor,  who  would  be  a  still  more  powerful  preacher 
of  gospel  truth. i  As  there  was  now  some  delay  in  bringing  the  affair 
to  a  conclusion,  new  hopes  might  spring  up  in  the  mind  of  Huss ;  ac- 
cordingly he  wrote  in  one  of  his  letters  :  "  Our  Saviour  called  to  life 
Lazarus,  after  he  had  lain  four  days  in  the  grave,  and  had  on  him  the 
smell  of  corruption  ;  preserved  Jonah  three  days  in  the  belly  of  the 
fish  and  sent  him  back  again  to  preach  ;  called  forth  Paniel  from  the 
den  of  lions  to  record  the  prophecies  ;  kept  from  the  flames  the  three 
men  in  the  fiery  furnace  ;  liberated  Susannah,  when  already  condemned 
to  death  :  therefore  he  could  easily  deliver  me  too,  poor  mortal,  if  it 
served  to  promote  his  own  glory,  the  advancement  of  the  faithful,  and 
my  own  best  good,  for  this  time,  from  prison  and  from  death.  For  his 
hand  is  not  shortened,  who  by  his  angel  led  Peter,  the  chains  falling 
from  his  hands,  from  the  dungeon,  when  condemned  already  to  die  at 
Jerusalem.  But  ever  let  the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done,  which  I  desire 
may  be  fulfilled  in  me  to  his  glory  and  to  my  own  purification  from 
sin. "2  He  concludes  a  letter  written  on  the  26th  of  June,  with  the 
following  words  :  "  This  letter  is  written  in  prison  and  in  chains,  while 

1  Mikowic,  Letter  8.  s  Opp.  I,  fol.  68,  1 ;  ep.  32. 


LAST   DAYS    OF   HUSS    IN   PRISON.  359 

I  am  expecting  death.  Yet  in  view  of  the  unsearchable  ways  of  God, 
I  dare  not  say  that  this  letter  is  my  last.  The  almighty  God  still  lives  ; 
he  can  deliver  me."1  Of  course  his  trial  before  the  council  had  not 
answered  his  wishes  nor  his  expectations.  It  was  not  the  saving  of 
his  life  about  which  he  was  chiefly  anxious,  but  his  most  ardent  desire 
was  to  have  a  trial  from  the  council,  with  liberty  to  express  himself 
freely  and  without  being  disturbed,  on  his  doctrines  and  principles. 
This  he  still  continually  sought  to  obtain  from  the  emperor,  through  the 
medium  of  his  Bohemian  friends.  Accordingly  he  writes  to  his  friends, 
"  I  still  beg  for  God's  sake,  that  all  the  nobles  would  unite  in  peti- 
tioning the  emperor  to  allow  me  a  final  hearing."  He  interpreted 
that  such  a  trial  should  be  granted  him,  from  the  words  addressed 
to  him  by  the  emperor  at  the  second  hearing,  and  added  :  "  It  must 
redound  greatly  to  the  emperor's  dishonor,  if  those  words  shall  not  be 
fulfilled.  But  I  think  his  words  are  about  as  much  to  be  relied  on  as 
his  safe  conduct."2  Finding  himself  disappointed  in  this  hope,  he 
wrote  to  the  Bohemian  Knights :  "  Trust  not  in  princes,  and  the  sons 
of  men  with  whom  there  is  no  salvation,  because  the  sons  of  men  are 
false  and  deceitful.  Today  they  are,  tomorrow  they  shall  perish  ;  but 
God  abides  forever,  who  has  his  servants  not  for  his  own  need,  but  for 
the  advantage  of  his  servants  themselves,  to  whom  he  observes  what 
he  has  promised,  fulfils  what  he  has  engaged  to  do  for  them,  never  re- 
pelling from  him  any  faithful  servant,  for  he  says,  '  Where  I  am,  there 
also  shall  my  servant  be.'  Every  servant  thy  master  makes  lord  over 
all  he  possesseth,  for  he  gives  him  himself,  and  with  himself  all  things, 
that  he  may  without  care,  without  fear,  nay  without  any  cessation, 
possess  all  things,  sharing  with  all  the  saints  in  endless  joy. "3  Also 
in  another  letter  Huss  writes :  "  This  I  have  constantly  borne  on  my 
heart,  '  trust  not  in  pi'inces  ; '  and  the  word  Cursed  is  the  man  who 
trusts  in  men,  and  makes  an  arm  of  flesh  his  confidence  !  "  He  there- 
fore counsels  his  friends  to  prudence.4  Thus  he  writes  to  a  friend  near 
the  emperor :  "  I  thought  that  the  emperor  had  some  regard  for  the 
law  of  God  and  the  truth ;  now  I  perceive  that  these  weigh  but  little 
with  him.  He  condemned  me  before  my  enemies  did.  Would  that  he 
could  have  shown  but  as  much  moderation  as  the  heathen  Pilate,  who, 
after  hearing  the  accusation,  said,  '  I  find  no  fault  in  this  man,'  or 
would  that  he  had  said,  at  the  least,  I  have  given  him  a  safe  conduct, 
and  if  he  refuses  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  council,  I  will  send 
him  back  with  your  sentence  and  the  evidence  against  him  to  the  king 
of  Bohemia,  to  be  finally  dealt  with  by  him  and  his  clergy."5  In  gen- 
eral it  was  a  great  mistake  in  Huss  if  he  supposed  that  he  should 
find  in  the  princes  of  his  time,  who  really  had  nothing  but  their  own 
political  interests  in  view,  allies  with  himself  against  the  hierarchy  and 
for  the  reformation  of  the  church.  He  sees  a  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy  of  Revelation,  that  the  kings  would  commit  fornication  with 

1  Mikowic,  Letter  7.  3  Ihid.  fol.  64,  2;  ep.  21. 

2  Ibid.  fol.  68,  2  ;  ep.  34.    Compare  what         4  Ibid.  fol.  68,  2  ;  ep.  33. 
has  been  quoted  before  from  this  letter.  5  Ibid.  fol.  69,  1 ;  ep.  34. 


360  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

the  great  whore  of  Babylon,  the  corrupt  church ;  for  they  had  fallen 
away  from  Christ's  truth,  and  embraced  the  lies  of  antichrist,  yielding 
to  seduction,  or  to  fear,  or  induced  by  the  hope  of  an  alliance,  and 
of  obtaining  the  power  of  this  world.1 

Among  the  steps  which  were  now  taken  with  a  view  to  persuade  Huss 
to  recant,  the  most  worthy  of  notice  are  those  of  an  unknown  friend, 
perhaps  the  person  referred  to  by  Huss  as  one  of  the  only  two  indi- 
viduals favorably  disposed  to  him  at  the  council.2  We  may  conjecture 
that  he  was  one  of  those  monks,  the  so-called  friends  of  God,  who, 
like  Tauler's  Staupitz,  had  in  the  solitude  of  their  convents  been  led, 
through  many  conflicts  of  soul  and  inward  experiences,  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  great  cardinal  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  to  repose  their  trust  in 
Christ  alone  as  their  Saviour  ;  although  at  the  same  time  they  still 
clung  fast,  as  did  Luther  also  at  the  beginning,  to  the  whole  ancient 
church  system,  which  itself  became  transfigured  to  their  eyes,  as  viewed 
from  that  central  point  of  their  whole  christian  life.  It  was  a  principle 
with  these  men,  never  to  assume  the  position  of  polemics,  but  rather  to 
work  positively  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  regeneration  of  the  church, 
whose  corruptions  they  deeply  felt,  by  beginning  at  the  very  centre  of 
Christianity.  A  person  of  this  character  would  be  a  close  and  atten- 
tive observer  of  Huss,  and  would  recognize  in  him  a  kindred  spirit. 
He  would  only  be  inclined  to  disapprove  of  his  too  polemical  and  vio- 
lent bent  to  reform,  and  lament  that  he  should  sacrifice  himself  by 
giving  way  to  this,  instead  of  preserving  his  life  for  the  kingdom  of  God 
by  accommodating  himself  to  things  as  they  were,  and  remaining  with- 
in the  church  as  salt  wherewith  it  might  be  seasoned.  Conformably  to  the 
principle  so  often  to  be  met  with  amongst  the  mystics,  the  principle  of 
monkish  obedience,  this  pious  man  may  have  thought  that  Huss  would 
do  well  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  his  superiors  at  the  council,  as  the 
organs  of  God,  thus  sacrificing  his  own  self-will  and  recognizing  a  les- 
son from  God,  teaching  him  to  observe  greater  moderation  and  pru- 
dence in  his  future  labors  for  the  promotion  of  reform.  The  great  con- 
fidence with  which  he  seems  to  have  reckoned  that  if  Huss  would 
accept  the  form  of  recantation  which  he  proposed  to  him,  his  affair  might 
still  be  adjusted,  would  perhaps  warrant  us  to  conclude  that  he  did  not 
act  solely  on  his  own  responsibility,  but  could  rely  on  the  concurrence 
of  more  powerful  individuals.  Now  if  we  place  this  in  connection  with 
the  fact  that  Cardinal  Zabarella  had  promised  Huss  a  form  of  recanta- 
tion by  which  his  conscience  would  be  left  undisturbed,  it  will  appear 
not  at  all  improbable,  that  the   person  of  whom  we  are  speaking  stood 

1  Ibid.  fol.  64,  2 ;  ep.  22.  John  Cardinalis,  of  Reinstein,  of  whom 

2  It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  per-  we  have  so  often  spoken,  were  led  into  the 
son  here  mentioned  was  a  cardinal,  though  error  of  supposing  that  a  cardinal  by  the 
the  way  in  which  he  speaks  to  Huss,  would  name  of  John  was  here  intended  ;  and  thus 
by  no  means  favor  any  such  conjecture,  concluded,  that  Cardinal  John,  of  Brogny, 
Some  readers  finding  in  the  letters  of  Huss,  bishop  of  Ostia,  commonly  called  Johan- 
which  we  have  already  quoted,  a  person  nes  Ostiensis,  was  the  individual  referred 
mentioned  by  the  name  of  John  Cardi-  to.  Lenfaut,  in  the  History  of  the  council 
nalis,  whom  Huss  warned  against  speak-  of  Constance,  was  the  first  to  correct  this 
ing  so  freely,   and  not  recollecting  that  mistake. 


LAST   DAYS    OF   HUSS   IN   PRISON.  361 

somehow  connected  with  this  cardinal,  and  had  arranged  the  whole  mat 
ter  with  him.    Perhaps,  as  we  might  conjecture  from  the  tone  in  which 
he  speaks,  he  was  himself  the  abbot  of  some  convent.    The  recantation 
which  this  unknown  individual  proposed  to  Huss,  was  to  this  effect  : 
"  Besides  the  protestations  made  before  by  me,  and  which  I  hereby  re- 
new, I  protest  moreover  that  though  a  great  deal  has  been  charged 
against  me  which  never  entered  my  thoughts,  yet  I  submit  in  all  that 
has  been  charged  against  me,  or  objected  to  me,  or  extracted  from  my 
books,  or  even  uttered  against  me  by  witnesses,  humbly  to  the  merci- 
ful direction,  determination,  and  correction  of  the  council,  and  agree  to 
abjure,  to  recant,  to  submit  to  such  merciful  penance  as  may  be  im- 
posed upon  me,  and  to  do  all  that  the  council  may,  in  its  goodness,  see 
fit  to  determine  for  my  salvation,  commending  myself  with  all  submis- 
sion to  its  mercy."     This  recantation  being  laid  before  him,  Huss  re- 
plied :  "  May  the  Almighty  Father,  the  most  wise  and  gracious  God, 
bestow  on  my  father  who  is  so  kind  to  me,  for  Christ's  sake,  the  eter- 
nal life  of  glory  !      I  am  very  grateful  —  he  writes  —  most  reverend 
father,  for  your  paternal  goodness.     I  do  not  venture  to  submit  to  the 
council,  in  the  form  which  has  been  laid  before  me  ;  first,  because  I 
should  have  to  condemn  many  truths  which  they,  as  I  have  heard  from 
themselves,  call  scandalous  ;  next,  because  I  should  perjure  myself  by 
such  abjuration,  since  I  should  have  to  declare  myself  guilty  of  those 
errors,  and  thus  give  great  scandal  to  the  people  of  God,  who  have 
heard  the  contrary  from  me  in  my  preaching.     If  then  that  Eleazar, 
of  whom  it  is  written  in  the  Books  of  the  Maccabees  that  he  would  not 
falsely  confess  that  he  had  eaten  flesh  forbidden  by  the  law,  lest  he  might 
act  against  God  and  leave  a  bad  example  to  those  who  should  come  af- 
ter him,  how  should  I,  though  an  unworthy  priest  of  the  nav  law, 
through  fear  of  a  punishment  which  will  soon  be  over,  think  of  trans- 
gressing the  law  of  God  with  a  more  grievous  sin,  first  by  departing 
from  the  truth  :  secondly,  by  incurring  the  guilt  of  perjury ;  and  thirdly 
by  giving  scandal  to  my  neighbor  ?     It  would  be  far  better  for  me  to  die 
than,  in  seeking  to  escape  a  momentary  punishment,  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  God,  and  perhaps  afterwards  into  eternal  fire  and  eternal 
shame.     And  since  I  have  appealed  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  al- 
mighty and  most  wise  judge,  committing  into  his  hands  his  own,  cause, 
I  therefore  abide  his  sentence  and  his  most  holy  decision,  knowing  that 
he  will  not  judge  by  false  evidence  and  fallible  councils,  but  according 
to  the  truth,  and  to  every  man's  just  deserts."     His  unknown  friend, 
however,  was  not  to  be  repelled  by  this  language,  but  replied  to  the 
letter  of  Huss,  bringing  the  matter  once  more  directly  home  to  his 
heart.     First  —  he  writes  to  him  —  let  it  not  trouble  you,  my  dearest 
brother,  that  you  condemn  truths,  since  it  is  not  you  that  condemn  them, 
but  those  who  are  your  superiors,  and  for  the  "present  also  mine.    Give 
heed  to  that  word,  Lean  not  to  thine  own  understanding  (Prov.  3:  5). 
For  there  are  many  persons  of  knowledge  and  conscience  at  the  coun- 
cil.    My  son,  receive  the  law  of  thy  mother.     This,  in  relation  to  the 
first  point.     Next,  as  regards  the  second,  the  breaking  of  your  oath  ; 
even  if  that  perjury  were  really  a  perjury,  still  the  guilt  of  it  would  not 

VOL.  V.  31 


362  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

fall  on  you,  but  on  those  who  require  the  oath.  Next,  there  are  no 
heresies,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,  when  the  obstinacy  is  removed. 
Augustin,  Origen,  and  the  Master  of  Sentences  committed  errors  and 
rejoiced  to  be  set  right  again.  I  have  often  supposed  that  I  under- 
stood a  thing  accurately,  and  yet  was  mistaken  ;  when  corrected,  I 
have  turned  about  cheerfully.  I  write  with  brevity,  because  I  write  to 
one  who  understands.  You  will  not  depart  from  the  truth,  but  come 
nearer  to  the  truth.  You  will  not  commit  a  perjury,  but  better  the 
matter  ;  you  will  occasion  no  scandal,  but  edify.  Eleazar  was  a  glo- 
rious Jew  ;  still  more  glorious  was  the  Jewess  with  the  seven  sons  and 
eight  martyrs  (2  Mace.  vii).  Paul  was  let  down  in  a  basket,  that  he 
might  advance  the  better  cause.  The  judge  to  whom  you  appeal,  the 
Lord  Jesus,  will  release  you  from  your  appeal  in  consideration  that 
contentions  are  still  due  from  you  for  the  faith  of  Christ.1  To  these 
representations  Huss  replied  :  "  All  this  the  council  has  often  re- 
quired of  me.  But  as  2  it  is  implied  in  it  all  that  I  recant,  abjure,  and 
submit  to  a  penance,  which  would  oblige  me  to  deny  many  truths  ; 
next,  as  it  would  be  a  perjury  to  abjure  errors  falsely  imputed  to  me  ; 
then,  as  I  should  by  so  doing  give  occasion  of  offence  to  many  of  God's 
people  to  whom  I  have  preached ;  therefore  it  were  better  for  me  that 
a  millstone  were  hung  about  my  neck  and  that  I  should  be  cast  into 
the  midst  of  the  sea  ;  and  fourthly,  if  I  complied  to  escape  a  brief  pun- 
ishment and  shame,  I  should  fall  into  the  greatest  punishment  and 
shame,  if  I  did  not,  before  my  death,  feel  the  most  poignant  remorse 
for  what  I  had  done.  The  seven  martyrs,  therefore,  belonging  to  the 
times  of  the  Maccabees,  come  up  before  me  to  confirm  me,  who  chose 
rather  to  be  cut  in  pieces  than  to  eat  flesh  contrary  to  the  word  of  God. 
That  Eleazar,  too,  comes  up  before  me,  who  would  not  even  say  that 
he  had  eaten  that  which  was  forbidden  by  the  law,  lest  he  should  leave 
a  bad  example  to  those  who  came  after  him,  but  chose  rather  to  perish 
as  a  martyr.  How  should  I  then,  who  have  before  my  eyes  all  those 
examples,  and  many  holy  men  and  women  of  the  new  covenant,  who 
have  surrendered  themselves  to  martyrdom  rather  than  consent  to  sin, 
I  who  have  for  so  many  years  preached  of  patience  and  fortitude,  how 
should  I  fall  into  many  falsehoods  and  perjury  and  give  scandal  to 
many  sons  of  God  ?  Far,  very  far,  be  it  from  me  to  do  any  such  thing  ; 
because  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  most  abundantly  reward  me,  since 
he  now  gives  me  the  help  of  patience."3 

1  Judex  appellationis  vestrae  dominus  as  that  of  the  faith,  and  placed  hopes  upon 
Jesus  det  vobis  apostolos,  et  sunt  ii :  Ad-  him,  in  case  he  should  preserve  his  life, 
hue  debentur  tibi  pro  fide  Christi  certami-  that  he  would  still  further  promote  the 
na.  The  term  "  apostolis  "  is  here  used  in  cause  of  the  faith  in  fighting  against  the 
the  sense  of  the  later  judical  Greek  and  corruptions  of  the  world. 
Latin — a  document  by  which  a  court  dis-  2  [In  the  Latin  text  which,  as  we  have 
missed  a  person  from  its  own  jurisdiction,  often  seen,  is  extremely  incorrect,  quia 
and  granted  him  liberty  to  betake  himself  stands  here,  which  Neander  translates 
to  another,  allowed  him  a  release  from  his  without  taking  care  to  get  rid  of  the  re- 
appeal.  Now,  this  document  is  represent-  suiting  anacoluthon.  But,  perhaps,  it 
ed  as  implied  in  the  cited  words :  Huss  is  would  be  better  read  primo,  and  then  let 
reserved  for  further  contests  in  behalf  of  secundo,  tertio,  quarto,  follow  in  their  or- 
the  faith.  The  writer,  therefore,  recog-  der.  Editor.] 
nized  the  cause  for  which  Huss  contended  a  Opp.  I,  fol.  70;  ep.  3S,  39,  40  and  41. 


LAST   DAYS   OF   HUSS   IN   PRISON.  363 

Huss  was  visited  in  his  prison  by  several  members  of  the  council, 
both  strangers  and  acquaintances,  who  sought  to  persuade  him  to  re- 
cant in  order  to  save  his  life.  A  doctor  who  visited  him  labored  to 
convince  him  that  he  would  be  innocent  of  all  guilt  if  he  submitted 
blindly  to  the  decision  of  the  council.  He  added  :  "  If  the  council  de- 
clared that  thou  hadst  but  one  eye,  when  thou  hast  two  eyes,  thou 
wouldest  still  be  bound  to  submit  to  their  decision."  Huss  replied  : 
"  Though  the  whole  world  should  tell  me  this,  yet  I  could  not  admit  it 
so  long  as  I  have  my  reason,  as  I  now  exercise  it,  without  gainsaying 
my  conscience."  After  many  words  the  doctor  finally  gare  up  the 
point,  saying  :  "  It  is  true,  I  have  not  chosen  a  good  example." ' 
Paletz  himself2  said  to  Huss  that  he  ought  not  to  dread  the  shame  of 
recantation,  but  to  look  simply  at  the  good  which  would  come  out  of  it. 
Huss  replied  :  "It  is  a  greater  shame  to  be  condemned  and  to  be 
burned,  than  to  recant  ;  how  should  I,  then,  dread  the  shame  ?  But 
give  me  your  opinion  :  what  would  you  do,  if  errors  were  ascribed  to  you 
which  you  had  never  taught  ?  Would  you  consent  to  abjure  them  ?  " 
Paletz  replied  :  "  It  is  an  awkward  thing."  And  he  began  to  weep.3 
Several  who  visited  Huss  endeavored  to  convince  him  also  on  the  ground 
of  that  monkish  notion  of  humility,  that  he  ought  to  feel  no  scruples 
about  abjuring  even  what  he  had  never  taught,  when  it  was  required 
of  him  by  the  council  ;  by  so  doing  he  would  not  be  guilty  of  a  lie  ; 
it  would  be  but  an  act  of  submission  to  higher  authority,  an  act  of  hu- 
mility. Examples  were  cited  of  persons  who,  from  humility,  confessed 
themselves  guilty  of  crimes  they  had  never  committed  ;  such  cases 
occurring  in  the  histories  of  the  ancient  monks.  An  Englishman  men- 
tioned the  example  of  persons  in  England  suspected  of  Wicklifitism, 
among  whom  were  several  very  worthy  men,  who  all  at  the  command 
of  the  bishop  of  Canterbury  abjured  the  Wicklifite  errors.  But  all  this 
was  quite  at  variance  with  that  strict  regard  to  truth  which  was  a  rul- 
ing principle  with  Huss.4 

From  his  cell,  Huss  had  contemplated  the  course  of  action  pursued 
by  the  council.  It  could  scarcely  fail  to  make  a  great  impression  on 
his  mind  to  see  the  pope,  for  whose  authority  men  were  so  zealous,  the 
man  who  had  occasioned  his  imprisonment,  afterwards  deposed  himself 
by  the  council,  charged  with  the  most  atrocious  crimes,  and  closely 
confined  in  the  castle  of  Gottleben,  which  Huss  had  left.  He  recog- 
nized in  all  this  a  judgment  of  God,  and  could  bring  it  in  evidence 
against  those  advocates  of  papal  absolutism,  who  accused  him  of  high 
treason  against  the  pope's  authority.  He  writes :  *  "  They  have  con- 
demned their  own  head ;  what  now  can  those  men  have  to  say,  who 
hold  the  pope  to  be  God  on  earth,  and  maintain  that  he  cannot  sin, 
cannot  practise  simony  ?  that  he  is  the  head  of  the  collective  holy 
church,  which  he  governs  extraordinarily  well  ?  who  say,  he  is  the 
head  of  the  holy  church,  which  he  spiritually  nourishes ;  he  is  the 

1  Ibid.  fol.  68,  1 ;  ep.  32.  s  Ibid.  fol.  67,  1 ;  ep.  30. 

1  Huss  relates  this  in  a  letter  of  the  23d        4  Ibid.  fol.  67,  2 ;  ep.  .'51 . 
of  June.  6  On  the  24th  June,  Mikowic,  Letter  6 


364  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

fountain  out  of -which  flows  all  power  and  goodness  ;  he  is  the  sun  of 
the  church ;  he  is  the  spotless  asylum,  and  that  to  him  every  Christian 
must  betake  ■  himself  for  refuge  1  Now  —  says  he  —  this  head  is  cut 
off,  the  earthly  god  is  in  chains,  accused  of  sin,  the  fountain  is  dried 
up,  the  sun  is  eclipsed,  the  heart  torn  out,  the  asylum  has  fled  from 
Constance,  so  that  nobody  can  take  refuge  in  him.  His  own  council 
has  accused  him  of  heresy,  because  he  made  sale  of  indulgences, 
bishoprics,  and  other  benefices ;  and  those  very  persons  have  con- 
demned him,  of  whom  many  bought  their  places  of  him,  while  many 
others  push  the  same  trade  among  themselves.  He  expresses  his  in- 
dignation that  the  pope  should  be  condemned  on  account  of  simony  by 
prelates,  who,  after  their  own  fashion,  practised  the  same  iniquity.  If 
Christ  should  address  this  council  as  he  did  those  who  asked  him  to 
condemn  the  woman  taken  in  adultery, —  he  that  is  without  sin  among 
you  let  him  cast  the  first  stone  at  the  pope,  they  would  go  out  one  after 
another.  Wherefore  did  they  kneel  before  the  pope  —  kiss  his  feet,  and 
•call  him  most  holy  father,  when  they  knew  him  to  be  guilty  of  a  most 
atrocious  crime  ?  Wherefore  did  the  cardinals  choose  for  a  pope,  one 
who  was  the  murderer  of  his  predecessor  ? "  Thus  he  writes  in 
another  letter  :  "  Now  you  may  understand  what  the  life  of  the  clergy 
is  who  say  they  are  true  representatives  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  who 
call  themselves  the  most  holy  church,  the  most  infallible  council ;  and 
yet  this  same  council  has  been  in  error  ;  it  has  first  honored  John  the 
Twenty-third  with  bowed  knee,  and  called  him  Most  Holy,  while  yet 
they  knew  that  he  was  a  shameful  murderer,  and  guilty  of  other 
crimes  besides,  as  they  themselves  afterwards  declared  when  they  con- 
demned him  ?  "i  In  the  abominations  of  the  secularized  church,  Huss 
sees  fulfilled  already,  as  Janow  had  done,  the  predictions  of  Christ 
regarding  the  abomination  in  the  holy  place  according  to  Daniel.  He 
writes  to  the  Bohemians,  that  they  should  not  allow  themselves  to  be 
terrified  by  the  council  of  Constance ;  they  would  never  go  to  Bohe- 
mia ;  many  of  the  council  would  die  before  they  could  force  the  de- 
livering up  of  the  books  of  Huss  in  Bohemia.  These  books,  like  storks, 
would  fly  in  all  directions,  from  the  council,  dispersing  into  all  quar- 
ters of  the  world  ;  and  when  winter  came,  they  would  perceive  what 
they  had  effected  in  the  summer.  Huss  supposed  that  he  had  re- 
ceived many  prophetic  intimations  in  his  dreams.  "  Know  —  he 
writes  to  his  friends  —  that  I  have  had  great  conflicts  in  my  dreams. 
I  dreamed  beforehand  of  the  flight  of  the  pope.  And  after  relating 
it,  Chlum  said  to  me  in  my  dream,  '  The  pope  will  also  return.'  Then 
I  dreampt  of  the  imprisonment  of  Jerome,  though  not  literally  accord- 
ing to  the  fact.  All  the  different  prisons  to  which  I  have  been  con- 
veyed have  been  represented  beforehand  to  me  in  my  dreams.  There 
have  often  appeared  to  me  serpents,  with  heads  also  on  their  tails  ;  but 
they  have  never  been  able  to  bite  me.  I  do  not  write  this  because  I 
believe  myself  a  prophet,  or  wrish  to  exalt  myself,  but  to  let  you  know 
that  I  have  had  temptations  both  of  body  and  soul,  and  the  greatest 

Opp.  I,  fol  63,  2;  ep.  19. 


LAST   DAYS    OF   HUSS   IN   PRISON.  365 

fear   lest  I  might  transgress  the  commandment  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  ]     Huss  proved  himself  to  be  a  genuine  christian  martyr  in 
the  succession  of  Christ ;  for  it  was  not  with  stoical  apathy,  not  in  the 
intoxication  of  fanaticism  that  renders  obtuse  the  natural  feelings  of 
humanity,  but  with  entire   self-possession,  in  the  undisturbed  and  full 
feeling  of  human  weaknesses,  contending  with  and  conquering  them 
by  the  power  of  faith,  that  he  gave  his  life  as  an  offering  to  God. 
This  picture  Huss  exhibits  to  us  in  that  noble  letter  which  he  wrote  on 
holy   eve    before    the    festival    of   John  the  Baptist,  when  he   says : 
"  Much  consoles  me  that  word  of  our  Saviour,  '  Blessed  be  ye  when 
men  shall  hate  you,  and  when  they  shall  separate  you  from  their  com- 
pany, and  shall  reproach  you,  and  cast  out  your  name  as  evil,  for 
the  Son  of  man's  sake.     Rejoice  ye  in  that  day,  and  leap  for  joy  ;  for 
behold   your  reward  is  great  in  heaven,'  Luke  6  :  22,  23.     A  good 
consolation;  nay,  the  best  consolation  ;  difficult,  however,  if  not  to  un- 
derstand, yet  perfectly  to  fulfil,  to  rejoice  amid  those  sufferings.     This 
rule  James  observes,  who  says,  My  beloved  brethren,  count  it  all  joy 
when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations,  knowing  this,  that  the  trying  of 
your  faith,  if  it  is  good,  worketh  patience,  James  1 :  2,  3.     Assuredly 
is  it  a  hard  thing  to  rejoice  without  perturbation,  and  in  all  these 
manifold  temptations  to  find  nothing  but  pure  joy.     Easy  it  is  to  say 
this,  and  to  expound  it,  but  hard  to  fulfil  it  in  very  deed.     For  even 
the  most  patient  and  steadfast  warrior,  who  knew  that  he  should  rise 
on  the  third  day,  who  by   his  death  conquered  his  enemies,  and  re- 
deemed his  chosen  from  perdition,  was  after  the  Last  Supper  troubled 
in  spirit,  and  said,  My  soul  is  troubled  even  unto  death  ;  as  also  the 
Gospel  relates,  that  he  began  to  tremble  and  was  troubled ;  nay,  in 
his  conflict  he  had  to  be   supported  by  an  angel,  and  he  sweat  as  it 
were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground  ;  but  he  who  was 
in  such  trouble  said  to  his  disciples,  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
and  fear  not  the  cruelty  of  those  that  rage  against  you,  because  ye 
shall  ever  have  me  with  you  to  enable  you  to  overcome  the  cruelty  of 
your  tormentors.     Hence  his  soldiers,  looking  to  him  as  their  king  and 
leader,  endured  great  conflicts,  went  through  fire  and  water,  and  were 
delivered.     And  they  received  from  the   Lord  the  crown  of  which 
James  speaks,  1 :  12.     That  crown  will  God  bestow  on  me  and  you, 
as  I   confidently  hope,  ye  zealous  combatants  for  the  truth,  with  all 
who  truly  and  perseveringly  love  our  Lord  Christ,  who  suffered  for  us, 
leaving  behind  an  example  that  we  should  follow  in  his  steps.     It  was 
necessary  that  he  should  suffer,  as  he   tells  us  himself ;  and  we  must 
suffer,  that  so  the  members  may  suffer  with  the  head ;  for  so  he  says, 
Whoever  would  follow  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up  his  cross 
and  follow  me.     0  most  faithful  Christ,  draw  us  weak  ones  after  thee ; 
for  we  cannot  follow  thee,  if  thou  dost  not  draw  us.     Give  us  a  strong 
mind,  that  it  may  be  prepared  and  ready.     And  if  the  flesh  is  weak. 
let  thy  grace  succor  us  beforehand,  and    accompany  us,  for  without 
thee  we  can  do  nothing ;  and  least  of  all  can  we  face  a  cruel  death. 

1  Ibid.  fsL  68,  2 ;  ep.  33. 

31* 


366  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY  AND   DOCTRINE. 

Give  us  a  ready  and  willing  spirit,  an  undaunted  heart,  the  right  faith, 
a  firm  hope,  and  perfect  love,  that  patiently  and  with  joy  we  may  for 
thy  sake  give  up  our  life."  He  subscribes  this  letter  as  follows : 
"  Written  in  chains,  on  the  vigils  of  St.  John,  who,  because  he  rebuked 
wickedness,  was  beheaded  in  prison.  May  he  pray  for  us  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !  "  '  Huss  requested  permission  before  his  death  to  con- 
fess himself,  and  at  first  chose  his  most  violent  opponent  Paletz.  He 
had  so  far  overcome  every  feeling  of  indignation  and  revenge,  as  to  be 
willing  to  confess  to  him.  He  begged  the  commissioners  to  grant  him 
Paletz,  or  some  other  one.  They  sent  him  a  doctor  of  theology,  who 
was  a  monk.  This  person  heard  the  confession  of  Huss,  and  spoke  to 
him  kindly  and  piously,  as  Huss  relates.  He  counselled  him  as  the 
others  had  done,  to  recant ;  he  did  not  make  it  however  a  condition 
of  absolution,  but  gave  him  the  latter  without  it.  This  is  worthy  of 
notice,  since  Huss,  if  he  did  not  recant,  if  the  ban  under  which  he  had 
lain  was  not  removed,  being  still  an  obstinate  heretic,  could  not  properly 
obtain  absolution.  We  may  conclude  therefore,  with  some  probability, 
that  this  monk  too,  like  the  above  mentioned  unknown  friend,  belonged 
to  the  number  of  those  whose  judgment  of  Huss  differed  from  that  of  the 
council.2  In  the  prospect  of  death  Huss  expressed  the  pain  he  felt  at 
not  having  succeeded  in  bringing  together  his  beloved  Bohemian  nation 
under  a  common  christian  and  national  interest,  at  being  forced  into  a 
controversy  on  that  subject  with  those  who  were  his  dearest  friends. 
Accordingly  he  writes  3  to  the  masters  and  bachelors  and  students 
of  the  Prague  university  :  "  I  admonish  you  in  the  most  gracious  Jesus, 
that  you  mutually  love  one  another,  lay  aside  divisions  and  seek  before  . 
all  things  the  glory  of  God,  remembering  me,  how  I  ever  had  in  view 
the  advancement  of  the  university  for  the  glory  of  God,  how  much  I  was 
troubled  at  your  dissensions  and  your  false  steps,  how  I  strove  to  knit 
together  our  excellent  nation  in  unity.  And  behold  how  this  nation  in 
some  of  those,  who  were  dearest  to  me,  for  whom  I  would  willingly  have 
sacrifiped  my  life,  has  become  bitter  to  me  by  the  shame  it  has  brought 
on  me  and  by  their  calumnies,  and  at  length  they  bring  me  to  a  bitter 
death.  May  the  Almighty  God  forgive  them,  because  they  knew  not 
what  they  did.  For  the  rest,  stand  fast  in  the  truth  ye  have  known, 
which  will  triumph  over  all  and  is  mighty  thi*ough  eternity."  ■*  When 
Paletz  last  visited  Huss,  and  the  latter  besought  his  forgiveness  for  any 
abusive  or  scornful  language  which  he  might  have  used  towards  him, 
particularly  for  his  language  in  the  tract  written  against  him,  where  he 
had  styled  him  the  "  Fictor,"  the  hardened  man  was  moved  to  tears  ; 
but  he  always  firmly  held  that  much  evil  had  been  wrought  in  Bohemia 
by  Huss  and  his  adherents.s 

It  characterizes  Huss  that  in  spite  of  the  weighty  cares  and  interests 
of  a  general  nature  that  occupied  his  mind,  and  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  personal  sufferings  and  conflicts,  he  still  preserved  in  his  heart  the 

1  Ibid.  fol.  67,  1  et  2 ;  ep.  30.  4  Ibid.  fol.  63,  1 ;  ep.  18. 

*  Ibid.  fol.  67,  2 ;  ep.  31.  *  Ibid.  fol.  67,  2 ;  ep.  31. 

"  On  the  27th  June. 


LAST   DAYS    OF   HUSS   IX   PRISON.  867 

l 
tenderest  regard  for  his  friends  who  were  to  survive  him,  following  in 
this  respect  also  the  pattern  of  his  Saviour,  who  showed  forth  his  love  to 
his  own  even  unto  death.  In  one  of  his  last  letters, '  he  expresses  to 
the  knight  of  Chlum  his  delight  at  learning  that  he  meant  to  renounce 
the  vanities  and  toilsome  service  of  the  world,  and  retiring  to  his  estate, 
devote  himself  wholly  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose 
service  was  perfect  freedom.  In  like  manner  he  expresses  joy  at  learn- 
ing that  the  knight  Wenceslaus  of  Duba  had  resolved  to  retire  from 
the  world  and  to  marry.  "  It  is  even  time  for  him,"  he  writes,  "  to 
take  a  new  course  ;  for  he  has  already  made  journeys  enough  through 
this  kingdom  and  that,  jousting  in  tournaments,  wearing  out  his  body, 
squandering  his  money,  and  doing  injury  to  his  soul.  It  only  remains 
for  him  therefore  to  renounce  all  these  things,  and  remaining  quietly  at 
home  with  his  wife,  serve  God,  with  his  own  domestics  around  him. 
Far  better  will  it  be  thus  to  serve  God,  without  cares,  without  partici- 
pation in  the  sins  of  the  world,  in  good  peace  and  with  a  tranquil  heart, 
than  to  be  distracted  with  cares  in  the  service  of  others,  and  that  too 
at  the  imminent  risk  of  his  salvation."  He  wrote  as  a  postscript : 
"  This  is  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  my  most  trusty  friend,  that  he 
may  read  it."  2  He  writes  to  his  friend  Christann  :  3  "  My  friend  and 
special  benefactor,  stand  fast  in  the  truth  of  Christ,  and  embrace  the 
cause  of  the  faithful.  Fear  not,  because  the  Lord  will  shortly  bestow 
his  protection  and  increase  the  number  of  his  faithful.  Be  gentle  to 
the  poor  as  thou  ever  wast.  Chastity,  I  hope,  thou  hast  preserved ; 
covetousness  thou  hast  avoided,  and  continue  to  avoid  it ;  and  for  thy 
own  sake  do  not  hold  several  benefices  at  once  ;  ever  retain  thy  own 
church,  that  the  faithful  may  resort  for  help  to  thee,  as  to  an  affection- 
ate father."  He  salutes  Jacobellus  and  all  the  friends  of  the  truth. 
The  letter  is  subscribed  :  "  Written  in  prison,  awaiting  my  execution 
at  the  stake."  4  Last  of  all,  he  addressed,  while  still  in  the  immediate 
expectation  of  death,  a  letter  to  his  friends  in  Prague,  with  his  farewell 
salutations  and  commissions.  He  besought  them  that  for  hie  sake, 
who  would  be  already  dead  as  to  the  body,  they  wTould  do  all  that  lay 
in  their  power  to  prevent  the  knight  of  Chlum  from  coming  into  any 
danger.  "  I  entreat  you,"  he  writes,  "  that  you  wTould  live  by  the  word 
of  God,  that  you  would  obey  God  and  his  commandments  as  I  have 
taught  you.  Express  to  the  king  my  thanks  for  all  the  kindnesses  he 
has  shown  me.  Greet  in  my  name  your  families  and  your  friends,  each 
and  all  of  whom  I  cannot  enumerate.  I  pray  to  God  for  you  ;  do  you 
pray  for  me  ?  To  Him  we  shall  all  come,  since  he  gives  us  help." 
Thus  wrote  Huss,  probably  on  the  4th  of  July,  when  he  was  expecting 
his  martyrdom  on  the  next  day.  He  added,  "Already  I  trust  I  shall 
suffer  for  the  sake  of  the  word  of  God."  He  begged  his  friends  for 
God's  sake  not  to  suffer  that  any  cruelty  whatever  should  be  practised 
against  the  servants  and  the  saints  of  God.  In  a  postscript,  he  sent 
his  fur  cloak  as  a  token  of  remembrance  to  Peter  of  Mladenowic.5 

1  On  the  29th  June,  ibid,  fol.  64,  2  ;  ep.        3  See  above,  page  310. 
22.  4  Ibid.  fol.  63,  I ;  ep.  17. 

2  Ibid.  fol.  65,  1 ;  ep.  23.  »  Ibid.  fol.  65,  1 ;  ep.  24. 


368  HISTORY     OF    THEOLOGY    AXD    DOCTRINE. 

Thus  wrote  Huss  in  the  prospect  of  death  :  for  already  was  his  fate 
decided  by  his  constant  refusal  to  recant.  On  the  1st  of  July,  an  offi- 
cial deputation  of  the  council  led  by  John  of  Wallenrod,  Bishop  of 
Riga,  appeared  before  Huss  and  invited  him  once  more  to  recantation  ; 
when  he  declared  his  resolution  in  writing,  as  he  had  already  declared 
it  by  word  of  mouth  to  individuals.  The  document  concluded  with 
these  words  :  "  Were  it  possible  that  my  voice  could  now  reach  to  the 
whole  world,  as  each  one  of  my  sins  and  every  falsehood  I  have  uttered 
will,  on  the  day  of  judgment,  be  made  known  before  all,  I  would  most 
joyfully  before  the  whole  world  recant  everything  false  and  erroneous 
which  I  have  ever  had  it  in  my  thoughts  to  say,  or  have  ever  said. 
This  I  say  and  write  of  my  own  free  will."  On  the  5th  of  July, 
appeared  a  deputation  from  the  emperor,  consisting  of  four  prelates, 
among  whom  were  the  cardinals  d'Ailly  and  Zabarella,  accompanied 
by  the  two  Bohemian  knights  so  often  mentioned  ;  and  Huss  was  led 
out  from  his  cell.  Chlum  addressed  Huss  in  these  words  :  "  I  am  an 
unlettered  man,  and  know  not  how  to  advise  you,  who  are  a  learned 
man.  Yet  I  beseech  you,  if  you  are  conscious  of  any  error  in  that 
which  has  been  publicly  brought  against  you  by  the  council,  do  not 
shrink  from  altering  your  opinion  according  to  their  will ;  but  if  you 
are  not,  I  shall  not  lead  you  to  the  false  step  of  doing  aught  contrary 
to  your  conscience  ;  I  much  rather  advise  you  to  suffer  any  punishment 
sooner  than  deny  the  truth  of  which  you  are  well  assured."  Huss 
answered  weeping:  "  I  call  God  the  Almighty,  as  I  have  often  done, 
to  witness,  that  from  my  heart  I  am  ready,  whenever  the  council  teaches 
me  anything  better  by  testimonies  from  Holy  Scripture,  to  change  my 
opinion  at  once,  and  to  confess  publicly  under  oath,  that  I"  was  pre- 
viously in  an  error."  Thereupon  one  of  the  bishops  standing  by 
remarked  in  a  bitter  tone,  "  He  would  never  be  so  arrogant  as  to  set 
his  own  judgment  above  the  decision  of  the  whole  council."  To  this 
Huss  replied,  "  Nor  am  I  of  any  other  mind  ;  for  if  he  who  is  least  in 
the  council  can  convict  me  of  an  error,  I  will  gladly  do  all  that  the 
council  requires  of  me."  "  Mark,"  said  the  bishops  a-t  this,  "  how 
obstinately  he  clings  to  his  errors  !  "  And  so  they  returned  back  to  the 
emperor  with  this  final  declaration  of  Huss. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  Huss  appeared  before  the  assembled  council,  at 
which  the  emperor  also  was  present,  seated  upon  his  throne,  surrounded 
by  the  princes,  and  with  the  insignia  of  the  empire.  In  the  middle  of 
the  hall  where  the  council  met,  stood  a  sort  of  table,  and  near  it  a 
wooden  frame  or  stand,  upon  which  were  hung  the  priestly  vestments 
which  Huss  was  to  put  on  previous  to  his  degradation.  After  an  intro- 
ductory discourse  the  process  was  read,  together  with  all  the  articles 
of  complaint,  and  from  the  whole  the  conclusion  was  drawn  that  Huss 
was  a  follower  of  Wicklif,  and  had  disseminated  Wicklifite  doctrines. 
Various  errors  and  heresies  were  ascribed  also  to  Huss  himself,  with 
various  qualifications,  and  he  was  pronounced  an  obstinate,  incorrigible 
heretic.  One  of  the  points  here  specified  was  the  appeal  of  Huss  to  Jesus 
Christ,  which  was  characterized  as  an  overleaping  of  the  constituted 
instances  of  ecclesiastical  courts,  as  an  act  of  infatuation,  and  a  con- 


DEGRADATION   OF  HUSS.  369 

tempt  of  church  jurisdiction.1  Huss  attempted,  more  than  once,  to  in- 
terpose a  word  in  defence  of  himself  against  the  allegations  ;  but  he 
■was  not  permitted  to  proceed.  He  plead  once  more  for  liberty  to  vin- 
dicate himself,  lest  those  present  might  suppose  that  the  things  al- 
leged against  him  were  true.  But  when  he  found  that  all  was  of  no 
avail,  falling  upon  his  knees,  he  commended  in  prayer  his  whole  cause 
to  God  and  to  Christ.  Though  commanded  to  be  silent,  he  felt  im- 
pelled, during  the  reading  of  the  process  against  him  and  the  pronounc- 
ing of  his  sentence,  occasionally  to  utter  a  word  in  vindication  of  him- 
self. He  expressed  himself  with  great  presence  of  mind,  uniting  confi- 
dence with  humility.  When  his  appeal  to  Christ  was,  for  the  reasons 
above  stated,  condemned  as  heretical,  he  said  :  "  0  Christ !  whose 
word  is,  by  this  council,  publicly  condemned,  I  appeal  to  thee  anew, 
thou  who,  when  thou  wast  ill  intreated  by  thine  enemies,  didst  appeal 
to  thy  Father,  thy  cause  thou  didst  commit  to  that  most  righteous  judge, 
that  we,  following  thy  example,  might  when  oppressed  by  injustice,  take 
refuge  in  thee."  When  it  was  objected  to  Huss  that  he  had  remained 
for  so  long  a  time  under  the  ban,  and  yet  held  mass,  he  told  what  he 
had  done  to  obtain  his  acquittal  and  the  removal  of  the  ban,  and  con- 
cluded by  stating  how  he  had  come  to  the  council  of  his  own  accord 
with  a  safe-conduct  from  the  emperor.  In  saying  this,  he  turned  and 
looked  the  emperor  full  in  the  face.  The  latter  is  said  to  have  blushed.2 
When  Huss  was  pronounced  an  obstinate  heretic,  he  said  :  "  I  never 
was  obstinate  ;  but  as  I  have  always  demanded,  up  to  this  hour,  so 
now  I  ask  only  to  be  informed  of  what  is  better  from  holy  Scripture  ; 
and  I  confess  that  so  earnestly  do  I  strive  after  the  truth,  that  if  with 
a  word  I  could  destroy  the  errors  of  all  heretics,  there  is  no  peril  I 
would  not  willingly  incur  for  that  end."  When  his  books  were  condem- 
ned, he  said :  "  Wherefore  condemn  ye  them,  when  you  have  not  offered  a 
single  -argument  to  prove  that  they  are  at  variance  with  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures and  with  the  articles  of  faith  ?  And  what  injustice  is  this,  that 
ye  condemn,  with  the  rest  of  my  books  written  in  the  Bohemian  tongue  ? 
books  that  ye  have  never  seen,  much  less  read  !  "  At  times  he  prayed 
with  his  eyes  fixed  heavenward.  When  his  sentence  had  been  read  to 
the  end,  falling  upon  his  knees,  he  said  :  "  Lord  Jesus  !  forgive  my 
enemies  ;  as  thou  knowest  that  I  have  been  falsely  accused  by  them, 
and  that  they  have  used  against  me  false  testimony  and  calumnies. 
Forgive  them  for  the  sake  of  thy  great  mercy  !  "  These  words  were 
received  with  laughter  by  many.  Next  followed  his  degradation  from 
the  spiritual  order,  which  was  performed  by  seven  bishops  selected  for 
this  purpose.  First,  he  was  clad  with  the  priestly  vestments.  Through 
the  whole  of  this  transaction,  the  example  of  Christ  stood  distinctly  be- 
fore Huss,  whose  steps  he  was  conscious  of  following  in  all  the  insults 
he  had  to  endure.   In  this  sense  he  interpreted  many  parts  of  the  pro- 

1  Cum  appellationem  ad  dominum  Je-  pag.  393  :  Haec  cum  loqueretur,  oeulos  in 

sum  Christum,  tanquam  supremum  judi-  imperatorem   defixos    habuit.      Ille   vero 

cem  omissis  ecclesiasticis  mediis  interpo-  statim  vehcmenter  erubuit,  atque  ejus  ve. 

6uit      llistor.  Hussi,  opp.  I,  fol.  27,  2.  reeuiRius  tinxerat  ora  rubor. 

8  Tliis  is  so  stated  by  V.  d.  llanlt,IV, 


370  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

ceeding.  Invested  with  the  priestly  robes,  he  was  called  upon  once  more 
by  the  bishops  to  show  some  regard  for  his  honor  and  his  soul's  salva- 
tion, and  recant.  Addressing  himself  with  tears  to  the  people  who 
stood  around,  he  said  :  "  These  worshipful  bishops  require  it  of  me  to 
confess  before  you  all  that  I  have  erred.  If  this  thing  were  of  such  a 
nature  that  it  could  be  done  so  as  to  involve  only  the  disgrace  of  a  sin- 
gle individual,  they  would  more  easily  persuade  me  to  it.  But  I  now 
stand  before  the  eyes  of  my  God,  without  dishonoring  whom,  as  well  as 
meeting  the  condemnation  of  my  own  conscience,  I  cannot  do  this. 
For  I  know  that  I  have  never  taught  anything  of  the  kind  that  I  have 
been  falsely  accused  of  teaching  ;  but  have  always  thought,  written, 
and  taught  the  contrary.  With  what  face  could  I  look  to  heaven,  with 
what  brow  could  I  meet  those  who  have  heard  my  teaching,  of  whom 
the  number  is  great,  if  by  my  fault  it  should  happen  that  what  hitherto 
they  were  most  certainly  assured  of  through  me,  should  be  made  un 
certain  to  them  ?  Should  I  by  my  example  destroy  the  peace  of  so 
many  souls  whom  I  have  made  familiar  with  the  most  settled  testimo- 
nies of  Scripture,  and  with  the  purest  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and 
thereby  fortified  against  all  the  assaults  of  Satan  ?  Far  be  it  from  me 
that  I  should  value  this'  my  mortal  body  more  highly  than  the  salvation 
of  those  souls."  This  too,  which  was  now  spoken  by  him,  was  con- 
strued as  a  proof  of  his  obstinacy  in  his  heresies.  The  several  articles 
of  his  dress  were  then  removed,  piece  by  piece,  with  set  forms  of  ex- 
pression. When  the  cup  of  the  eucharist  was  taken  from  his  hands, 
with  the  words  :  "  We  take  from  thee,  condemned  Judas,  the  cup  of 
salvation,"  he  answered  :  "  But  I  trust  in  God,  my  Father,  the  Al- 
mighty, and  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  whose  name  I  bear  this,  that  he 
will  not  take  from  me  the  cup  of  his  salvation  ;  and  I  have  a  firm  hope 
that  I  shall  yet  drink  of  it  today  in  his  kingdom."  A  dispute  having 
arisen  about  the  mode  of  removing  his  tonsure,  Huss  said  to  the  empe- 
ror :  "I  am  surprised  when  all  are  alike  cruel,  they  cannot  agree 
among  themselves  about  the  mode  of  cruelty."  A  cap  painted  over 
with  devils  was  then  placed  on  his  head,  with  the  inscription  :  "  arch- 
heretic."  But  he  said  :  "  My  Lord  Jesus  Christ  wore,  on  my  account, 
a  crown  of  thorns  ;  why  should  not  I  be  willing,  for  his  sake,  to  wear 
this  easier  though  shameful  badge.  I  will  do  it,  and  gladly."  When 
this  was  done,  the  bishops  said  :  "  Now  we  give  over  thy  soul  to  the 
devil."  "  But  I  —  said  Huss,  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven  —  commend 
into  thy  hands,  Jesus  Christ,  my  soul,  by  thee  redeemed."  Huss,  cast 
forth  from  the  church,  was  now  delivered  over  to  the  secular  arm. 
The  emperor  then  commanded  Duke  Louis  of  Bavaria  to  consign  Huss 
to  the  executioners  of  justice.  When,  on  being  led  away  by  them,  he 
beheld  his  books  burning  before  the  doors  of  the  church,  he  smiled. 
He  bade  all  whom  he  passed  not  to  believe  that  he  was  about  to  die  for 
the  sake  of  some  erroneous  doctrine,  but  that  it  was  only  through  the 
hatred  and  malice  of  his  adversaries,  who  had  brought  against  him  false 
accusations.  On  arriving  at  the  place  of  execution,  Huss  fell  upon 
his  knees  and  prayed,  in  the  words  of  a  few  psalms,  particularly  the 
fifty-first  and  thirty-first.     He  was  heard  often  to  repeat  the  words  : 


JEROME    OF    PRAGUE.  371 

"  Into  thy  hands,  Lord,  I  commit  ray  spirit."  When  laymen,  stand- 
ing by,  heard  this,  they  said  :  "  What  he  may  have  done  before,  we 
know  not  ;  but  now  we  see  and  hear  him  pray  and  speak  most  de- 
voutly ! "  When  compelled  to  rise  from  his  knees,  he  said:  " Lord  Je- 
sus Christ  !  stand  by  me,  that  by  thy  help  I  may  be  enabled,  with  a 
strong  and  steadfast  soul,  to  endure  this  cruel  and  shameful  death,  to 
which  I  have  been  condemned  on  account  of  the  preaching  of  the  holy 
gospel  and  thy  word."  Huss  then  permitted  his  first  prison-keepers 
to  come  near  him,  and  said  to  them  in  the  German  language :  "  I 
thank  you,  my  dearest  brethren,  for  all  the  kind  attentions  you  have 
shown  me,  for  you  waited  upon  me  like  dearest  brothers,  to  say  nothing 
of  your  being  my  keepers.  And  be  assured  that  I  have  a  firm  trust 
in  my  Saviour,  in  whose  name  I  will,  with  good  courage,  suffer  this 
kind  of  death,  believing  that  I  shall  today  reign  with  him." '  He  then 
explained,  as  he  had  done  before,  the  cause  of  his  death  to  the  people. 
When  he  was  placed  upon  the  faggots,  bound  fast  to  the  stake,  and 
chained  to  it  by  the  neck,  he  said  :  "  I  willingly  wear  these  chains  for 
Christ's  sake,  who  wore  still  more  grievous  ones."  Before  the  pile  was 
lighted,  the  marshal  of  the  empire,  Von  Pappenheim,  rode  up  to  him  and 
called  upon  him  once  more  to  recant.  But  he  said :  "  What  error  should 
I  recant,  when  I  am  conscious  of  no  error  ?  for  I  know  that  what  has 
been  falsely  brought  against  me,  I  never  thought,  much  less  have  I 
ever  preached.  But  the  chief  aim  of  my  preaching  was  to  teach  men 
repentance  and  the  forgiveness  of  sins  according  to  the  truth  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  expositions  of  the  holy  fathers  ;  there- 
fore am  I  prepared  to  die  with  a  joyful  soul."  The  fire  being  kindled, 
Huss  commenced  singing,  with  a  loud  voice  :  "  Jesus,  Son  of  the  liv- 
ing God,  have  mercy  upon  me."  As  he  was  beginning  to  repeat  this 
for  the  third  time,  his  voice  was  stifled  by  the  flames,  which  the  wind 
drove  towards  him  ;  yet  his  lips  were  seen  for  a  long  time  to  move,  as 
in  prayer.  The  ashes  of  his  body  when  burned,  were  cast  into  the 
Rhine,  so  that  nothing  might  remain  of  him  to  pollute  the  earth,  pre- 
cisely as  the  ashes  of  Polycarp  were  disposed  of  by  the  pagans. 

We  have  still  to  speak  of  the  fellow  combatant  of  Huss,  Jerome  of 
Prague.  This  person,  who  appeared  sometimes  in  the  character  of  a 
philosopher  and  theologian,  sometimes  in  that  of  a  knight  and  man 
of  the  world,  had  created  a  still  greater  and  more  general  stir  than 
Huss.  He  had  labored  in  countries  the  most  diverse  to  promote  the 
cause  of  reform,  and  had  displayed  far  greater  zeal  than  the  more 
practical  Huss  in  diffusing  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif.  In  Bohemia  and 
Moravia,  he  had  extended  his  influence  among  all  c'lasses.2      Then 

1  V.  d.  Hanlt,  IV,  pag.  447.  pie  of  both  sexes,  and  among  students  at 
*  To  this  there  is  doubtless  special  allu  the  universities:  Quidam  insani  magistri 
sion  in  what  the  abbot  of  Dola  says,  when  Wiclefitiei  ordinis  et  schismatis  non  so- 
speaking  of  persons,  who,  after  wandering  lum  post  discursum  peregrinarura  nobis 
through  many  countries,  labored  to  disse-  terrarum  et  districtuum  etiain  in  terris  nos- 
minate  Wicklifite  doctrines  in  Bohemia  tris,  Bohemiae  et  Moraviae,  aulas  princi- 
and  Moravia,  at  the  courts  of  princes,  in  pum,  collegia  et  cathedras  s*acenlotum, 
cathedral  churches,  in  convents,  even  seholas  studentium,  promiscui  sexus  po- 
among  the  Carthusians,  and  among  peo-  pularem  tumultum  fidelium,  antra  deserti 


372  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

again  he  had  produced  great  commotions  at  several  universities  by  his 
zeal  in  defending  the  doctrines  of  Wicklif,  for  example  in  Paris  and 
Heidelberg.  In  Paris  he  had  more  opposition  to  encounter  from  the 
fact  that  this  university  was  a  seat  of  nominalism.  Wicklif 's  doctrine 
concerning  God's  almighty  power,  which  he  there  set  forth,  would  in 
particular  arouse  the  suspicion  of  one  so  zealously  devoted  to  uniform- 
ity of  doctrine  and  so  prejudiced  against  everything  of  an  abnormal 
and  eccentric  nature  as  Chancellor  Gerson.  The  latter  was  prepared 
to  bring  him  to  trial,  where  he  was  to  be  forced  to  a  recantation  ;  but 
he  was  informed  of  it  in  time  to  make  his  escape.'  Next  we  find  him 
in  Vienna,  where  also  he  excited  disturbances.  The  magistrates 
caused  him  to  be  arrested,  but  afterwards  set  him  at  liberty.  And  he 
was  still  later  accused  at  Constance  of  having  brought  this  about  by 
deceiving  the  magistrate,  promising  that  he  would  make  up  his  mind 
to  recant,  and  that  he  would  not  leave  Vienna  until  the  end  of  his  trial.3 
From  the  castle  of  Wietow  he  addressed  to  the  official  a  letter,  excus- 
ing his  flight  on  the  ground  that  his  promise  had  been  given  under 
constraint.  "  You  are  to  know,"  he  wrote,  "  that  I  am  at  the  castle 
of  Wietow,  sound  and  hearty,  with  many  friends  ever  ready  to  serve 
you  and  yours.  And  I  pray  you  excuse  me  with  regard  to  the  promise 
you  forced  from  me,  as  you  will  do,  if  you  weigh  well  the  import  of  such 
a  promise.  For  we  by  no  means  intend  to  evade  the  law,  but  are 
always  ready  to  hold  ourselves  responsible  to  it  if  a  suitable  guaranty 
of  just  treatment  is  given  us.  Yet  to  stand  alone  amidst  so  many 
hundred  enemies  is  what  you  would  not  advise  me  to  do  yourself  if  you 
truly  loved  me.  But  my  soul  has  escaped  like  a  sparrow  from  the  net 
of  the  fowlers  ;  the  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  free.  Still  I  thank  you, 
and  shall  always  thank  you.  Do  but  send  me  all  my  adversaries  with 
the  witnesses  to  Prague  ;  there  I  will  meet  them  in  fair  debate.  Or, 
if  it  should  be  more  convenient  for  them,  let  us  together  go  to  the 
court  (probably  of  Rome,)  where  they  will  have  quite  as  many  ac- 
quaintances as  I  have."  3  In  his  defence  of  himself  at  Constance, 
Jerome  justifies  his  conduct  on  the  ground,  that  the  proceedings  of  the 
official  against  him  were  wholly  irregular,  since  he  had  no  lawful 
authority  over  him,  belonging,  as  he  did,  to  another  diocese.4     Accord- 

claustralium,  sed  etiam  segregates  in  par-  bitus  suspeetus,  iidem  magistri  et  praeser- 

tem  et  paeem  silentii  Cartusiensium  eel-  tim  Joann.  de  Gersone  ipsum  ad  revocan- 

lulas  cum  terrore  valido  (repleverunt)  ve-  dum  hujusmodi  errores  compulisset.     Sed 

hem  enter.    Antiwikleffus,   in  Pez,  IV.  2,  Hieronymus,  nescitur  per  quem  avisatus, 

pag.  157  et  158.  occulte  civitate  et  studio  recessit.     V.  d. 

1  We  take  this  from  the  trial  of  Jerome  Hardt,  IV,  pag.  680  et  681. 

at  Constance,  where  he  is  reproached  with  2  (Viennae)  propter  infamiam  haerese- 

the  fact :   Cum  Hieronymus  saepius  de  ar-  os  per  officialem  curiae  fuit  arrestatus,  ci 

ticulis  Wicleff  incepisset  conferre,   alios-  juravit  et  sub  poena  excommunicationis 

que  ad  conferendum  induxisset,  laudasset  promisit,  de  oppido  Viennensi  nullatenus 

et  commendasset  Joannem  Wicleff  et  ejus  recedere,  neque  se  absentare,  caet.    Ibid, 

perversam  doctrinam,  tandem  in  quadam  pag.  638. 

disputatione  publica  dictos  errores  publice  3  Ibid.  pag.  683. 

tenuit,  et  praesertim,  quod  deus  nihil  pos-  4  Violenter  arrestatus  fui,  nee  quicquam 

sit  annihilare.     Tandem  quum  esset  per  mecum  juridice,  sed  riolenter  actam  est, 

plures  magistros  Parisienses  graviter  no-  nee  habebant  quicquam  jurisdictionis  su- 

tatus  et  vehementer  de  haeresi  per  eos  ha-  per  me,  quia  de  alia  eram  dioecesi. 


JEROME    OF   PRAGUE.  373 

ingly  he  looked  upon  the  whole  proceeding  as  an  exercise  of  arbitrary 
power,  and  thought  himself  fully  justified  in  making  his  escape  from  it: 
It  could  not  justly  be  exacted  of  him  to  stay  and  await  his  own  death 
at  the  stake,  which  was  inevitable.1  We  next  find  him,  in  the  year 
1410  in  Ofeu,  where  he  appeared  before  the  emperor  Sigismund  and 
many  bishops.  It  was  not  till  the  archbishop  Zbynek  had  entered  a  com- 
plaint against  him  in  a  letter  to  the  emperor,  that  he  was  arrested  by  the 
latter,  and  handed  over  to  the  archbishop  of  Gran.  This  archbishop 
kept  him  under  arrest  only  five  days,  and  treated  him  with  kindness. 
It  was  owing  perhaps  to  the  mediation  of  this  prelate  that  the  king 
dismissed  him  without  demanding  further  security.2  Next  having 
left  Prague  immediately  after  those  commotions  in  1413,  of  which  we 
have  given  an  account,  Jerome  visited  King  Wladislaw  of  Poland, 
and  Duke  Witold  of  Lithuania.  He  appeared  in  Cracow,  and  there 
excited  great  commotions.  Albert,  bishop  of  Cracow,  who  stood  forth 
as  his  opponent,  supposes  it  is  true  that  he  found  no  acceptance  there, 
and  no  susceptible  soil  for  his  opinions  amongst  that  simple  people. 
But  he  contradicts  himself,  when  he  says  at  the  same  time,  that  such 
violent  commotions  had  never  been  produced  there  by  any  individual 
since  the  memory  of  man.  If  the  soil  had  been  so  unsusceptible,  such 
effects  could  not  have  been  produced.  The  truth  may  be,  that  the 
great  mass  of  the  simple  people  were  offended  at  him,  and  would  not 
hear  him  ;  but  he  must  have  found  adherents  among  others.3  He  was 
accused  at  Constance  of  having  shown  a  disposition  to  favor  the  Greek 
Church  in  Lithuania.  Thus  he  is  said  to  have  made  his  appearance  in 
the  cities  of  Witepsk  and  Plescow,  and  to  have  participated  there  with- 
out scruple  in  the  communion  of  the  Greek  Church  which  was  devoted 
to  the  Russians.  He  is  said  to  have  endeavored  to  persuade  Duke 
Witold  to  apostatize  from  the  Latin  Church.  Jerome  could  say  in  de- 
fence of  himself,  that  in  the  case  of  Duke  Witold  the  only  question 
debated  by  him  was,  whether  baptism,  performed  according  to  the 
rites  of  the  Greek  Church  on  a  great  number  of  people  who  were  dis- 
posed to  come  over  to  the  Latin  Church,  was  to  be  recognized  as  valid, 
or  whether  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  be  rebaptized,  and  he 
maintained  the  validity  of  such  a  baptism,  holding  it  only  to  be  necessary 

1  Nee  furtive  nee  contumaciter  fecessi,  3  The  bishop  writes:  Venit  hue  persoa- 
sed  violentiam  mihi  ab  iis  infligendam  ex-  aliter,  et  prima  die  barbatus  apparuit,  se- 
spectare  non  volui,  prout  nee  tenebar,  nee  eunda  vero  imberbis  stolatus,  tunica  rubra 
debui.     Ibid  pag.  638.  et  caputio  foderato,  pellibus  griseis,  sc  glo- 

2  In  the  complaints  laid  against  Jerome  riosum  ostendebat,  coram  ipso  rege,  regi- 
at  Constance,  the  affair  is  represented  as  na,  principum,  baronum  ac  procerum  fre- 
if  Jerome  had  been  arrested  and  imprison-  quentia.  Qui  tamen  licet  hie  paueis  die- 
ed  and  then  banished  from  Hungary  by  bus  moraretur,  majores  in  clero  et  populo 
the  Kinperor  Sigismund  on  account  of  the  fecit  commotiones,  quam  fuere  factae  a 
Wicklifite  errors  disseminated  by  him.  memoria  hominum  in  diocesi  ista.  —  Ter- 
But  the  report  of  Jerome  is  certainly,  in  ra  nostra  ad  semen  suum  videtur  esse  ari- 
itself,  the  more  probable  one ;  for,  if  Je-  da  capiendum  et  fructum  afferendum,  eo 
rome  was  arrested  on  account  of  Wicklif-  quod  simplex  plebicula  tanti  philosophi 
ite  heresies,  and  subjected  to  an  examin-  dogmata  comprehendere  non  valet,  et  mul- 
ation,  his  judges  would  not  have  been  con-  to  minus  terrae  Lituanorum  et  Russiae 
tent  with  merely  banishing  him  from  Hun-  cact.  According  to  a  citation  in  Palacky, 
gary.  Ill,  1  p.  301,  note  412. 

VOL.    V.  32 


374  HISTORY   OF    THEOLOGY    AND   DOCTRINE. 

that  such  persons  should  be  more  exactly  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Latin  Church.1  We  may  well  suppose  that  those  persons,  who  were 
seeking  every  way  to  stigmatize  Jerome  and  Huss  as  heretics,  and 
whose  sayings,  as  is  apparent  from  the  facts  already  exhibited,  were 
little  worthy  of  credence  ;  that  such  persons  by  means  of  their  sophis- 
tical reasonings  from  facts  as  simple  as  the  above  described  might  seize 
upon  and  pervert  such  cases  so  as  to  answer  their  own  ends.  At  the 
same  time  it  may  be  true  also,  that  Jerome  had  given  some  occasion 
for  such  accusations,  by  his  rather  liberal  conversations  on  the  subject 
of  the  relation  of  the  Greek  to  the  Latin  Church.  Proceeding  as  he 
doubtless  did  on  the  same  fundamental  idea  of  the  church  with  Huss, 
and  so  apprehending  this  idea  after  a  more  spiritual  and  inward  manner, 
approaching  more  nearly  to  the  idea  of  the  invisible  church,  he  may 
perhaps  from  this  point  of  view  have  risen  superior  to  the  points  of 
opposition  between  the  two  churches,  recognized  genuine  members  of  the 
church  even  amongst  the  Russians,  and  sought  to  encourage  efforts  to 
bring  about  a  union  between  the  two  churches.  If  even  such  a  man 
as  Chancellor  Gerson,  distinguishing  the  more  essential  from  the  more 
unessential,  expressed  himself  with  mildness  on  the  relation  of  the 
Greek  Church  to  the  Latin,  and  sought  to  prepare  the  way  for  negotia- 
tions of  union,  how  much  more  might  this  be  done  by  Jerome,  who  rose 
far  above  the  narrow  limits  of  Parisian  theology.  Jerome  had,  in  the 
mean  time,  returned  to  Prague.  The  imprisonment  of  Huss  had  taken 
place.  He  could  not  bear  to  leave  his  friend  and  fellow  combatant 
alone  in  this  crisis.  He  appeared  at  first  incognito  and  secretly  at 
Constance,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1415.  But  as  he  must  soon  ascertain 
that  he  would  not  be  heard,  and  could  not  be  safe  there,  he  left  Con- 
stance again,  and  repaired  the  next  day  to  the  small  town  of  Ueberlin- 
gen  four  miles  distant.  From  thence  he  wrote  to  the  emperor2  and  cardi- 
nals, and  offered,  if  a  safe  conduct  were  granted  him,  publicly  to  answer 
before  any  one  to  every  charge  of  heresy  that  might  be  brought  against 
him.  Not  being  able  to  obtain  such  a  safe  conduct,  he  caused  to  be 
affixed  the  next  day,  on  the  gates  of  the  emperor's  palace,  on  the  doors 
of  the  principal  churches,  the  residences  of  the  cardinals,  and  other 
eminent  prelates,  a  notice  in  the  Bohemian,  Latin,  and  German  lan- 
guages, wherein  he  declared  himself  ready,  provided  only  he  should  have 
full  liberty  and  security  to  come  to  Constance  and  to  leave  it  again,  to 
defend  himself  in  public  before  the  council  against  every  accusation 
made  against  his  faith.  Not  obtaining  what  he  demanded,  he  procured 
a  certificate  to  be  drawn  up  to  that  effect  by  the  Bohemian  knights 
resident  in  Constance  and  sealed  with  their  seals,  and  with  this  to  serve 
as  a  vindication  of  himself  to  his  friends,  he  turned  his  face  towards 
Bohemia.  But  as  he  travelled  slowly,  at  conflict  with  himself,  his 
enemies  succeeded  in  waylaying  him,  and  getting  possession  of  his 
person.  He  was  arrested  near  Hirschau,  a  small  town  in  Suabia. 
Meantime,  as  an  answer  to  the  notices  posted  up  by  Jerome  at  Con- 

1  V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  pag.  643.  the  expression  :    Scripsit  per  vie  literas. 

2  It  is  his  secretary,  whose  report  is  our     Cfr.  Joann.  Hus  opp.  II,  fol.  349  seq. 
authority  for  these  statements :  for  he  uses 


TRIAL  OF  JEROME  OF  PRAGUE.  375 

stance,  followed  a  citation  of  the  council,  calling  upon  him  to  defend 
himself  before  a  public  session  of  that  body.  A  safe  conduct  was 
granted  him,  in  terms  implying  that  he  was  to  have  no  security  for  his 
person,  it  being  promised  him  that  he  should  suffer  no  violence,  so  far 
as  this  could  be  allowed  with&ut  detriment  to  justice.1  At  the  request 
of  the  council  and  by  the  emperor's  command,  Jerome  was  now  con- 
ducted in  chains  to  the  council  on  the  23d  of  May,  and  he  appeared 
before  a  public  convocation  of  the  same  body  in  the  Franciscan  con- 
vent. In  this  assembly,  he  encountered  a  number  of  eminent  men 
from  the  universities  of  Paris,  Heidelberg,  and  Cologne,  who  recollected 
him,  and  triumphed  over  the  man  who  had  once  given  them  so  much 
alarm.  Accordingly  one  after  another  addressed  him,  and  reminded 
him  of  the  propositions  which  he  had  set  forth.  The  first  among  these 
was  Chancellor  Gerson,  who  captiously  charged  him  with  wanting  to 
set  himself  up  as  an  angel  of  eloquence,  and  with  exciting  great  com- 
motions at  Paris  by  maintaining  the  reality  of  general  conceptions. 
We  may  observe  here,  as  well  as  in  other  like  examples,  the  strong 
propensity  which  now  prevailed  to  mix  up  together  philosophical  and 
theological  disputes.  But  Jerome  distinguished  one  from  the  other,  and 
declared  that  he,  as  a  university  master,  had  maintained  such  philo- 
sophical doctrines  as  had  no  concern  with  faith.  In  reference  to  all 
that  had  been  objected  to  him  by  different  parties,  he  held  himself 
ready  to  recant  as  soon  as  he  was  taught  anything  better.  Amid  the 
the  noisy  shouts  was  heard  the  cry,  "  Jerome  must  be  burnt."  He 
answered  with  coolness,  "  Well,  if  you  wish  my  death,  let  it  come  in 
God's  name  !  "  But  the  archbishop  of  Salzburg  said,  "  Not  that ;  for 
God  has  said  '  He  wills  not  the  death  of  the  sinner,  but  that  he  should 
turn."  Meanwhile,  after  the  prelates  had  retired,  Peter  of  Mladeno- 
wic,  sent  by  Huss,  came  to  the  window  of  the  room  in  which  Jerome 
was  to  be  found,  and  exhorted  him  to  stand  fast  by  the  truth,  and  not 
to  shrink  even  from  dying  for  that  truth  for  which  he  had  so  stoutly 
spoken.  Jerome  replied  that  he  hoped,  with  the  grace  of  God,  to 
remain  faithful  to  the  truth  even  unto  death  ;  they  had  talked  a  good- 
deal  about  death,  now  they  were  to  learn  what  it  ivas.  He  was  now 
delivered  over  by  the  archbishop  of  Riga,  in  the  night  time,  to  a  guard, 
who  led  him  prisoner  into  a  tower,  where  he  was  bound,  to  a  stake, 
with  his  hands,  feet,  and  neck  so  that  he  could  scarcely  move  his 
head.  Thus  he  lay  two  days  with  nothing  to  eat  but  bread  and  water. 
Then  for  the  first  time  he  obtained,  through  the  mediation  of  Peter  of 
Mladenowic,  who  had  been  told  of  his  situation  by  his  keepers,  other 
means  of  subsistence.  This  severe  imprisonment  threw  him  into  a 
violent  fit  of  sickness.  He  demanded  a  confessor,  which  was  at  first 
refused,  then  granted  with  great  difficulty.  After  he  had  already 
spent  several  months  in  this  severe  confinement,  he  heard  of  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  his  friend.  His  death  and  the  imprisonment  of  Jerome 
produced  the  greatest  exasperation  of  feeling  among  the  knights   in 

'  Ad  quod  a  violcntia.  justitia  semper    orthodoxa,  tenore  praesentium  offerimus. 
salva,  omnem  tibi  salvum  conductum  nos-     Opp.  II,  fol.  350,  1. 
trum  quantum  in  uobis  est  et  fides  exiyit 


376  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

Bohemia  and  Moravia.  On  the  2d  of  September  they  put  forth  a 
letter  to  the  council,  in  which  they  expressed  their  indignation,  declared 
that  they  had  known  Huss  but  as  a  pious  man,  zealous  for  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel ;  and  that  he  had  fallen  a  victim  only  to  his  enemies  and 
the  enemies  of  his  country.  They  entered  a  bitter  complaint  against 
the  captivity  of  the  innocent  Jerome,  who  had  made  himself  famous 
by  his  brilliant  gifts-;  perhaps  he  too  had  already  been  murdered  like 
Huss.  They  declared  themselves  resolved  to  contend  even  to  the 
shedding  of  their  blood,  in  defence  of  the  law  of  Christ  and  of  his 
faithful  servants.1  The  council  now  had  to  fear,  that  should  Jerome 
experience  the  like  fate  with  Huss,  new  oil  would  be  added  to  the 
flames  already  kindled  among  the  Bohemians,  and  violent  agitations 
would  begin  from  that  quarter  in  the  church.  Hence  they  must  use 
every  effort  to  induce  Jerome  to  recant.  And  hence  he  was  caused 
repeatedly  to  appear  before  the  council,  where  they  hoped  he  might 
yield.  The  tedious  length  of  his  close  confinement,  which  had  now 
lasted  near  half  a  year,  and  his  longing  desire  for  liberty,  at  length 
brought  Jerome  to  a  point  where  he  gave  in,  and  consented  to  offer  a 
recantation.  This  was  in  the  month  of  September.  But  it  was 
deemed  important  by  the  council  that  the  recantation  should  be  made 
in  the  most  public  manner  possible  ;  and  a  general  assembly  of  the 
council  was  therefore  appointed  for  this  purpose.  Accordingly  Jerome 
appeared  in  the  19th  session,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1415,  and 
read  a  prescribed  form  of  recantation,  abjuring  all  the  heresies  of 
which  he  was  accused,  namely,  all  the  heresies  of  Wicklif  and  Huss, 
acquiescing  in  the  sentence  passed  by  the  council  upon  them  both,  and 
making  several  other  declarations,  such  as  the  council  required  of  him. 
One  of  these  particularly  deserving  of  notice,  was  his  retractation  of 
the  assertion,  that  without  the  doctrine  of  the  reality  of  general  con- 
ceptions (de  universalibus  realibus)  the  christian  faith  could  not  be 
defended.  Here  we  have  another  example  of  the  close  connection 
which  then  prevailed  between  philosophical  and  theological  polemics. 
After  this  Jerome  was  conducted  back  to  his  prison,  but  no  longer 
closely  fettered.  Having  now  done  all  that  was  required  of  him  he 
had  a  right  to  claim  his  liberty.  This  was  even  acknowledged  by  the 
commission  appointed  to  conduct  his  trial,  at  the  head  of  whom  stood 
cardinal  d'Ailly.  But  Paletz  and  Michael  de  Causis  and  monks  who 
came  from  Prague  endeavored  to  raise  suspicions  against  Jerome's 
recantation,  and  hinted  at  the  disastrous  consequences  which  would 
result  from  his  being  set  at  large.  And  there  was,  indeed,  every 
reason  to  fear,  that  Jerome,  as  soon  as  he  got  back  to  Bohemia,  would 
once  more  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  reform  movement.  Be- 
sides, Chancellor  Gerson  added  weight  to  the  current  suspicions  against 
Jerome  by  a  tract  of  his,  "  On  protestations  in  matters  of  faith." 
Remarks,  too,  may  have  dropped  from  his  own  lips,  betraying  the  true 
temper  of  his  mind,  and  which  would  be  made  the  most  of  by  his  ene- 
mies.    But  his  judges,  who  confined  themselves  to  the  simple  facts  of 

1  V.  d.  Hardt,  IV,  pag.  495. 


TRIAL  OF  JEROME  OF  PRAGUE.  377 

the  case,  insisted  on  Jerome's  liberation.  The  above  mentioned  Bo- 
hemians zealously  opposed  them  and  hinted  at  bribery.  The  members 
of  the  commission  finally  threw  up  their  office  ;  a  new  commission  was 
appointed  ;  and  Jerome  was  subjected  to  new  examinations.  At  length 
he  refused  to  submit  to  any  more  private  examinations,  and  demanded 
a  public  trial,  where  he  would  express  himself  freely. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May,  Jerome  finally  obtained  the  desired 
public  hearing  before  the  assembled  council.  New  articles  of  com- 
plaint were  to  be  brought  against  him.  He  demanded  liberty  to  speak 
first  of  himself.  This  was  not  granted  him.  He  should  answer  first 
to  the  articles  of  complaint.  He  was  required  to  bind  himself  by  oath 
to  speak  the  truth ;  but  he  declined  taking  an  oath,  as  he  did  not  ac- 
knowledge the  competency  of  the  new  tribunal,  nor  the  regularity  of 
the  new  examination.  On  the  twenty-third  and  the  twenty-sixth  of 
May  he  defended  himself,  from  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  one  in 
the  afternoon,  against  all  the  accusations,  one  by  one  ;  unravelled  in  a 
connected  discourse  all  the  events  in  Prague  in  which  he  had  taken  a 
part,  with  such  presence  of  mind,  such  eloquence,  so  much  wit,  as 
to  excite  universal  admiration.  Then,  finally,  he  was  allowed  to 
speak  of  himself;  and  it  was  expected  that  he  would  only  complain  of 
the  injustice  of  the  new  examination,  appealing  to  the  fact  that  he  had 
done  all  that  could  be  required  of  him,  and  close  with  demanding  that 
the  acquittal  which  had  been  put  off  so  long  should  now  be  granted 
him.  He  actually  commenced  with  something  of  this  sort,  describing 
the  injustice  of  renewing  the  process  against  him,  complaining  of  his 
new  judges,  and  protesting  against  the  competency  of  this  new  tribu- 
nal. But  soon  his  discourse  took  a  new  turn  altogether.  In  a  dazzling 
strain  of  eloquence  he  brought  up,  one  after  another,  those  men  who 
among  pagans,  Jews,  and  Christians  had  fallen  victims  to  false  accusa- 
tions, and  particularly  to  priestly  hatred.  He  spoke  of  Socrates, 
Seneca,  Boethius,  John  the  Baptist,  Stephen,  and,  last  of  all,  John 
Huss  ;  enthusiastically  dilating  on  the  latter,  as  a  man  known  to  him 
only  by  his  zeal  for  piety  and  truth  ;  one  who  had  drawn  down  upon 
himself  the  persecutions  of  a  worldly-minded  clergy  only  by  the  faith- 
fulness with  which  he  rebuked  their  corruption.  He  ended  by  declar- 
ing that  there  was  no  one  of  his  sins  he  more  painfully  rued,  than  that 
of  having  suffered  himself  to  be  moved  by  the  fear  of  death  to  acqui- 
esce in  the  condemnation  of  that  saintly  confessor  of  the  truth.  He 
took  back  all  he  had  said  concerning  Wicklif  and  Huss.  He  declared 
that  he  assuredly  should  not  be  the  last  of  those  who  would  fall  victims 
to  the  cunning  malignity  of  bad  priests ;  and  turning  round  to  his 
judges  he  exclaimed  :  "  I  trust  in  God,  my  Creator,  that  one  day, 
after  this  life,  you  shall  see  Jerome  preceding  you  and  summoning  you 
all  to  J  udgment,  and  then  you  must  render  your  account  to  God  and 
to  me,  if  you  have  proceeded  against  me  wrongfully.1     This  last  de- 

1  V.  (1.  Hardt  IV,  757.  In  the  Hist.  Hardt.  In  that  account  the  chronological 
Ilicronym.  opp.  II,  fol.  352,  2,  the  ac-  order  of  events  seems  not  to  have  been  re- 
count docs  not  seem  to  be  so  exact  as  in  garded.  According  to  the  acts,  Jerome 
the  copy  of  the  acts  of  the  council  in  V.  d.  spoke  these  words  at  the  conclusion  of  his 

32* 


37S 


HISTORY    OP   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 


claration  of  Jerome  was  his  death-warrant.  But  partly  by  his  elo- 
quence and  presence  of  mind,  contrasted  with  his  emaciated  looks,  in 
which  were  depicted  the  marks  of  his  long  and  severe  imprisonment, 
he  had  excited  so  deep  a  sympathy  in  many,  that  they  were  anxious 
to  save  him  ;  and  partly,  they  were  loath  to  excite  to  a  still  higher 
degree,  by  this  new  martyrdom,  the  angry  feelings  of  the  Bohemians. 
A  respite  of  forty  days  was  therefore  given  him  for  reflection.1  Let 
us  hear  how  an  eye-witness,  a  man  quite  destitute  of  susceptibility  to 
religious  impressions,  one  of  the  restorers  of  ancient  literature,  Pog- 
gio  of  Florence,  the  chosen  orator  of  the  council  of  Constance,  ex- 
presses himself  when  speaking  of  the  impression  which  this  discourse 
of  Jerome  could  not  fail  to  make  on  all  that  heard  it.  He  says,  in  a 
letter  to  his  friend  Aretino,  or  Leonard  Bruno  of  Merezzo  :  "  He  had 
for  three  hundred  and  forty  days2  been  pining  away  in  a  dark  tower 
foil  of  offensive  effluvia.  He  had  himself  complained  of  the  harsh 
severity  of  such  confinement,  saying  that  he,  as  became  a  steadfast 
man,  did  not  murmur  at  being  forced  to  endure  such  unworthy  treat- 
ment, but  that  he  could  not  help  being  astonished  at  the  cruelty  of 
men  towards  him.  It  was  a  place  where  he  could  not  even  see,  much 
less  read  or  write.  I  pass  over  the  mental  anguish  which  must  have 
daily  tortured  him,  and  which  was  enough  to  destroy  the  power 
of  memory  itself  within  him.  He  cited  so  many  learned  and  wise 
men  as  witnesses  in  behalf  of  his  opinions,  so  many   teachers  of  the 


speech,  on  the  26th  of  May,  and  thus  the 
beginning  and  the  conclusion  of  this  speech 
agree  very  well  together.  According  to 
the  report  in  the  Hist.  Hieronym.,  Jerome, 
on  the  contrary,  did  not  speak  these  words 
until  the  30th  of  May,  after  the  speech  in- 
troducing the  motion  for  his  trial.  More- 
over, the  style  of  language  in  the  acts 
wears  more  the  impress  of  originality. 
We  find  in  the  other  review  of  facts  in  the 
Hist.  Hier.,  vague  or  indefinite  statements 
exchanged  for  others  more  definite.  For 
example,  in  the  acts,  the  words  run  :  Quod 
ana  vice  post  hanc  vitam  haberent  videre 
Hieronymum  eos  praecedere  et  eos  omnes 
ad  judicium  vocare.  In  the  Hist.  Hier.,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  indefinite  expression 
una  vice  is  converted  into  "a  hundred  years 
after  this  life,"  for  which  we  can  see  no 
reason  whatever,  even  though  we  suppose 
a  reference  to  the  German  reformation, 
which,  however,  would  not  be  suitable  in 
this  connection  even  if  considered  as  a  pro- 
phecy. The  passage  in  the  Hist.  Hier.  is 
as  follows :  Cito  vos  omnes,  ut  respondi- 
catis  mihi  coram  altissimo  et  justissimo  ju- 
dice  infra  centum  annos.  We  see  how  these 
words,  by  gradual  changes,  and  by  being 
transferred  from  Jerome  to  Huss,  gave  oc- 
casion to  that  prophecy  of  Luther  which 
was  ascribed  to  Huss,  and  which  has  been 
handed  down  to  posterity  by  the  medals 
commemorative  of  the  jubilee  of  the  re- 
formation :  Centum  revolutis  annis  deo  et 


mihi  reddetis  rationem,  which  had  some 
connection  also  with  the  really  prophetic 
utterances  which  we  meet  with  in  Huss. 
But,  in  Huss,  we  find  a  prophetic  con- 
sciousness, such  as  is  ever  wont  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  witnesses  of  evangelical 
truth  in  contending  against  Antichristian 
errors,  —  the  consciousness  that  the  truth, 
of  which  they  serve  as  the  organs,  will  not 
succumb  in  the  contest,  but  come  forth  out 
of  it  triumphant  and  more  resplendent 
than  before.  Huss  was  fully  convinced 
and  assured,  as  we  have  seen,  that  al- 
though he  himself  must  perish  in  this  con- 
test, yet  still  more  powerful  preachers  of 
the  truth  and  champions  for  it  than  he 
was,  would  be  raised  up  after  him  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  But,  Huss  had  no  distinct 
individual,  as  Luther,  before  his  mind,  and 
his  thoughts  were  rather  upon  Bohemia 
than  upon  Germany.  We  can  only  say : 
What  the  spirit  of  prophecy  inspired  in 
the  mind  of  Huss  went  into  fulfilment,  but 
in  a  different  way  from  what  he  supposed. 
What  began  in  Bohemia,  and  perished 
after  the  stormy  scenes  that  followed,  was 
carried  triumphantly  through  in  Germany 
by  the  more  mighty  reformer. 

1  It  is  singular  that  Poggio  mentions 
only  a  two  days'  respite. 

2  [We  ought  doubtless  to  read  CCCLX 
for  CCCXL,  though  certainly  it  stands 
thus  written  in  V.  d.  Hardt,  III,  69.    Ed.} 


TRIAL  OF  JEROME  OF  PRAGUE.  ST 9 

church,  that  they  would  have  sufficed,  if  he  had  passed  the  whole  of 
this  time  in  all  quietness  in  the  study  of  wisdom.  His  voice  was 
pleasant,  clear,  full-sounding,  accompanied  with  a  certain  dignity  ;  his 
gestures  adapted  to  excite  indignation  or  pity,  which,  however,  he 
neither  asked  for,  nor  sought  to  obtain.  He  stood  up  fearlessly,  un- 
daunted, not  merely  contemning  death,  but  even  demanding  it,  so  that 
one  might  look  upon  him  as  a  second  Cato.  0,  what  a  man,' a  man 
worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance  !  "  *  Meantime,  he  was  visited  in 
his  prison  by  several  of  the  most  considerable  men  of  the  council,  who 
hoped  that  he  might  be  prevailed  on  to  recant.  Among  these  was 
Cardinal  Francis  Zabarella.  But  Jerome  continued  steadfast  to  the 
end. 

The  thirtieth  of  May  was  now  appointed  as  the  day  for  passing  and 
executing  the  sentence  on  Jerome.     After  the  bishop  on  whom  this 
office  Avas  devolved  by  the  council,  had  made  his  discourse  introducing 
the  motion  to  pass  sentence  on  Jerome,  the  latter  began  with  a  loud 
voice  to  address  those  who  were  present.     He  refuted  what  the  bishop 
had  said :  protested  his  innocence  ;  complained  of  the  perversion  of 
his  language,  and  inveighed  against  the  corruption  of  a  clergy  aban- 
doned to  luxury  and  self-enjoyment,  rioting  in  pleasures  at  the  expense 
of  the  poor.     The  sentence  of  the  council  having  been  pronounced  on 
him,  he  was  delivered  over  to  the  secular  arm.     He  then  commended 
himself  to  God,  and  singing  psalms  and  hymns  allowed  himself  to  be 
led  to  the  place  of  execution.     On  arriving  at  the  spot  where  Huss 
had  suffered  martyrdom,  and  where  he  himself  was  to  follow  him,  he 
fell  on  his  knees  and  offered  up  a  long  and  fervent  prayer,  so  that  the 
executioner,  growing  impatient,  he  had  to  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth. 
Whilst  they  were  fastening  him  with  a  chain  to  the  stake,  and  arrang- 
ing the  faggots  around  him,  he  sang  a  spiritual  song  in  praise  of  the 
day  that  brought  him  martyrdom.     The  fire  being  lighted  behind  his 
back,  lest  he  might  see  it  and  be  terrified,  he  called  to  the  executioner 
to  light  it  before  his  eyes,  "  For —  said  he  —  if  I  had  been  afraid  of 
this  fire,  I  should   not  have   come  here  !  "     And  then  addressing  the 
assembled  crowd  in  the  German  language  he  said  :  "  My  beloved  chil- 
dren, as  I  have  sung,  so  and  no  otherwise  do  I  believe.    But  the  cause 
for  which  I  now  die  is  this,  that  I  would  not  agree  with  the  council  in 
affirming2  that  Master  Huss  was  justly  condemned  by  them.     For  I 
had  truly  known  him,  as  a  genuine  preacher  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ."     When  the  fire  was  kindled,  he  repeated  in  a  loud  voice, 
"  Into  thy  hands,  0  God,  I  commit  my  spirit."    And  afterwards,  when 
already  suffering  the  deadly  torture  of  the  flames,  he  said,  in  the  Bo- 
hemian language  :  "  Lord  God,  have  pity  on  me,  forgive  me  my  sins, 
for  thou  knowest  I  have  sincerely  loved  thy  truth."      His  voice  could 
no  longer  be  heard,  but  his  lips   appeared   amidst   the  flames  as  if 
moving  in  prayer.     The  eye-witness,  Poggio,  then  describes  the  im- 
pression which  the   martyrdom  of  Jerome   made   on  him,  though  he 
found  it  impossible  to  comprehend  what  gave  him  the  power  so  to 

1  V.  d.  Hardt  III,  pag.  69.  2  Poggio,  in  V.  d.  Hardt,  III,  pag.  71 


380  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

die.  "  With  cheerful  looks  he  went  readily  and  -willingly  to  his  death  ; 
he  feared  neither  death,  nor  the  fire  and  its  torture.  No  stoic  ever 
suffered  death  with  so  firm  a  soul,  as  that  with  which  he  seemed  to  de- 
mand it.  Jerome  endured  the  torments  of  the  fire  with  more  tran- 
quillity than  Socrates  displayed  in  drinking  his  cup  of  hemlock."  - 


III.  The  Friends  of  God  in  Germany. 

While  the  contests  between  the  popes,  since  the  time  of  John  the 
Twenty  Second  and  the  emperor  Louis  the  Fourth,  were  important  on 
account  of  their  influence  on  the  advancement  of  the  church  by  pro- 
moting greater  freedom  of  inquiry  into  ecclesiastical  law  and  reactions 
against  the  absolute  power  of  the  popes,  there  were  other  important 
influences  also  resulting  from  the  same  causes  on  the  movements  of 
the  religious  spirit.  In  particular,  there  was  partly  called  forth  and  partly 
promoted  by  these  contests  a  religious  fermentation  among  the  German 
people,  of  which  the  after  consequences  lasted  for  a  long  time.  These 
influences,  however,  Ave  must  contemplate  in  their  connection  with 
other  disturbances  in  the  world,  and  other  significant  appearances. 
Great  physical  and  mental  suffering  grew  out  of  these  contests ;  many 
minds  were  profoundly  disquieted  by  the  interdict,  the  suspension  of 
divine  worship,  the  absence  of  church  blessings,  where  the  need  of 
them  was  most  deeply  felt.  Add  to  this  the  desolating  effects  pro- 
duced by  one  of  those  pestilences  often  witnessed,  among  the  signs  of 
a  time  preparing  by  the  dissolution  of  the  old  for  a  new  creation,  by 
virtue  of  an  inscrutable  connection  between  physical  and  spiritual 
development  on  this  earth  ;  between  history  and  nature,  under  the 
guiding  hand  of  that  wise  providence  which  makes  all  power  sub- 
servient to  one  highest  end.  And  such  pestilences  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  arousing  slumbering  minds  to  thought,  and  of  making  them 
conscious  of  their  true  condition.  At  the  time  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing, all  the  causes  above  mentioned  conspired  together  to  bring  the 
church  to  a  consciousness  of  her  deep  corruption,  to  point  her  away 
from  the  physical  to  the  spiritual  distress,  to  awaken  in  her  a  remem- 
brance of  God's  judgments,  to  direct  her  eye  to  the  hidden  future, 
leading  men,  with  the  Prophets  and  the  Apocalypse  for  their  guides, 
to  study  the  signs  of  the  last  times.  And  so  in  fact  it  came  about 
that  many  thought  they  saw  very  near  at  hand  the  coming  of  anti- 
christ and  the  second  advent  of  Christ,  or  a  new  spiritual  revelation 
of  Christ  to  execute  judgment  on  a  corrupt  church,  and  prepare  the 
way  for  restoring  it  to  greater  glory.  Out  of  all  this  proceeded, 
on  the  one  hand,  divers  movements  of  a  fanatical  spirit,  and  on  the 

1  V.  d.  Hardt,  III,  pag.  70.    We  may  says :  Pertulerunt  ambo  constanti  animo 

also  compare  here  the  words  with  which  necem,  et  quasi  ad  epulas  invitati  ad  in* 

another  man  of  this  period,  who  likewise  cendium  properarunt,  nullam  emittentes 

was  incapable  of  understanding  the  spirit  vocem,  quae  miseri  animi  facere  posset 

which  animated  these  men,  Aeneas  Silvio  indicium.    Nemo  philosophorum  tarn  forti 

Piccolomini,    expresses     his     admiration,  animo  mortem  pertulisse  traditur,  quam 

when,  speaking  of  Huss  and  Jerome,  he  isti  incendium.    Histor.  bohemica,  pag.  34. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.  381 

other,  contemplations  of  a  more  sober  and  profound  christian  serious- 
ness. We  are  speaking  of  movements  which  continued  long  to  propa- 
gate themselves,  reaching  into  the  fifteenth  century.  The  prophecies 
of  a  Hildegard ;  the  writings,  genuine  and  spurious,  of  an  abbot  Joa- 
chim, supplied  nutriment  to  such  tendencies.  The  physical  and 
spiritual  sufferings  of  that  distressful  period  awakened  a  more  pro- 
found sense  of  religious  need.  In  the  common  church  theology  such 
a  need  could  find  no  satisfaction  ;  from  the  common  clergy,  the  indi- 
viduals in  whom  this  sense  of  need  had  been  awakened,  could  expect 
no  assistance.  One  peculiar  characteristic  for  which  the  German  race 
has  ever  been  distinguished,  is  their  profound  sense  of  the  religious 
element,  seated  in  the  inmost  depths  of  the  soul ;  their  readiness  to  be 
impelled  by  the  discordant  strifes  of  the  external  world,  and  unfruitful 
human  ordinances,  to  seek  and  find  God  in  the  deep  recesses  of  their 
own  hearts,  and  to  experience  a  hidden  life  in  God  springing  forth  in 
opposition  to  barren  conceptions  of  the  abstract  intellect  that  leave  the 
heart  cold  and  dead,  a  mechanism  that  converts  religion  into  a  mere 
round  of  outward  ceremonies.  John  Nieder,  a  dominican  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  relates  in  a  book  of  his  containing  many  remarkable 
passages  regarding  the  internal  religious  life,  in  this  and  the  next  fol- 
lowing times, i  that  in  Germany  it  was  a  custom  with  men  and  women, 
not  only  of  the  lower  orders  but  in  noble  families,  to  set  apart  one  hour 
at  least  of  every  day  to  meditation  on  the  benefits  they  owed  to  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  that  they  might  be  the  better  prepared  for  the 
patient  endurance  of  trials  and  the  exercise  of  all  the  virtues.2  Thus 
arose  among  clergymen,  monks,  and  laymen,  of  both  sexes,  the  ten- 
dency to  a  mysticism  that  gave  depth  to  the  religious  element.  This 
tendency,  which  at  first  had  developed  itself  in  conflict  with  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  scholastic  theology,  afterwards  fell  in  with  it,  and  was 
now  beginning  to  shape  itself  in  a  more  independent  way  and  to  gain 
greater  influence,  especially  upon  the  popular  life,  in  Germany.  As 
early  as  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  the  way  for  this  had  already 
been  prepared ;  but  by  the  causes  above  mentioned  it  was  still  further 
promoted.  Thus  in  the  midst  of  this  general  distress  and  these  dis- 
cords of  the  times,  we  see  that  affiliated  societies,  grrowino:  out  of  one 
spirit,  were  formed  in  south  and  west  Germany  and  spread  as  far  as 
the  Netherlands,  or  from  the  Netherlands  back  to  Germany,  having 
their  principal  seats  in  Strasburg,  Basle,  Cologne,  and  Nurenberg, 
whose  members  were  called,  both  by  themselves  and  others,  Friends 
of  G-od.  Not  that  it  was  intended  thereby  to  designate  an  exclusive 
party  or  sect,  but  simply  to  denote  a  certain  stage  of  spiritual  life,  the 
stage  of  disinterested  love  to  God  ;  a  love  free  from  all  desire  of  re- 
ward as  the  predominating  affection,  and  opposed  to  a  state  of  the 
affections  still  under  bondage,  where  the  man  seeks  in  God  something 

1  Formicarius  ed.  v.  d.  Hardt.     Hlerast.     hora  aliqui,  summum  humano  gencri  im- 
1696.  pensum  beneficium,  L'liristi  passionem,  me- 

'-'  Kst  consuetudo  laudabilis  multorum,    ditari  ac  repetere,  at  exinde,  deo  grati,  ma- 
ne  dicanj  plebeorum  utriusqne  sexus  in    la  mundi  f'erant  patientiua  et  virtutes  ope- 
Alemmannia,  verum  etiam  magnatum  et<  rentar  facilius.    Fag.  133. 
Dobiliam,   ad    minus   suniel    die  naturali. 


382  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

other  than  God  himself.  The  scripture  which  seemed  to  authorize 
this  distinction  and  opposition  between  servants  and  friends  of  God, 
were  our  Saviour's  words  in  John  15  :  15,  which  are  thus  explained  by 
one  of  these  Friends  of  God,  the  dominican  John  Tauler :  "  Therefore 
did  our  Lord  say  to  his  disciples,  '  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants, 
but  friends.'  The  '  henceforth  was  from  the  time  they  forsook  all  and  fol- 
lowed him  ;  then  they  were  his  friends  and  no  longer  servants."  i  The 
same  opposition  is  expressed  again  by  this  writer,  where  he  distinguishes 
between  those  that  carried  within  them  the  false  ground,  those  under 
bondage  to  the  world,  and  the  true  friends  of  God,  who,  without  any 
separate  will  of  their  own,  referred  all  things  to  God.2  Men  were  to 
be  found  among  them,  who  had  carefully  studied  the  scholastic  the- 
ology, who  occasionally  display  a  certain  refinement  and  subtlety  of 
conceptual  distinction,  and  make  some  use  of  an  exact  classification  of 
the  mental  faculties.  Such  men  were  Tauler  and  Ruysbroch.  But 
still  the  theology  growing  out  of  a  living  intercourse  with  God,  and 
grounded  in  the  internal  experiences  of  the  spiritual  life,  was  opposed 
to  the  former  and  considered  far  superior  to  it.  They  pointed  away 
from  the  strifes  and  contests  of  the  scholastic  theologians,  which  served 
to  bewilder  the  mind,  to  those  fountains  of  knowledge  within.  Thus 
Tauler  warns  against  the  propensity  to  pry  into  the  mystery  of  trinity, 
holding  that  such  matters  should  be  left  to  the  great  masters  at  the 
universities  ;  and  even  their  disputations  on  these  subjects  he  consid- 
ers simply  as  make-shifts  to  dispose  of  the  objections  of  heretics ;  not 
as  though  they  could  fathom  the  incomprehensible.  "  Let  the  great 
teachers  study  and  dispute  upon  these  matters.  Yet  in  awkwardness 
of  art  they  must  still  (with  permission)  stammer  for  the  sake  of  Holy 
Church,  looking  about  to  see  if  they  can  possibly  so  express  them- 
selves as  that  she  may  not  come  into  difficulty  on  account  of  heresy."3 
Tauler  inveighs  against  those,  "  who  spoil  that  which  should  be  born 
in  the  spirit,  by  boasting  of  reason,  whether  it  be  doctrine,  or  truth,  or 
whatever  else  it  may  be,  —  by  pretending  that  they  understand  it,  and 
can  talk  of  it,  and  so  seem  to  be,  and  are  somewhat  puffed  up,  though 
they  bring  the  matter  neither  into  life  nor  practice."  He  says  : 
"  Natural  light,  compared  with  the  divine  light,  is  less  than  a  lighted 
taper  to  the  noon-day  sun."4  Accordingly,  he  says  of  the  true  inward 
man,  to  which  our  Saviour's  words,  '  the  kingdom  of  God  is  within 
you,'  applies,  that  "  here,  these  friends  of  God  find  truly  and  clearly 
the  truth,  which  is  unknown  to  all  who  do  not  dwell  in  this  ground, 
nor  keep  themselves  free  and  empty  with  regard  to  all  creatures. 
Wherefore,  beloved  children,  the  masters  of  Paris  diligently  read  the 
books,  and  turn  over  the  leaves  ;  this  is  something  ;  this  is  pretty 
well ;  but  these  men  read  the  true  living  book,  where  all  is  life."  5 

1  See  Schmidt,  in  his  work,  "Johannes     and  in  the  Francfort  edition  of  the  year 
Tauler  von  Strasburg,"  which  contains  so     1826.     Vol.  I,  p.  263. 

many  richly  instructive  remarks,  explana-  3  Tauler's  Sermons,  Bas.  ed.  fol.  57  b; 

tory  of  the  appearances  we  arecon  sidering.  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  167. 

Hamburg,  1841.     P.  165.  *  Bas.  ed.  fol.  42  a  ;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  101. 

2  See  the  words  in  the  Basel  edition  of  *  Bas.  ed.  fol.  135  a;  Fr.  ed.  Ill,  p.  220. 
his  Sermons,  of  the  year  1522,  fol.  27  b; 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD    IN    GERMANY.  383 

From  the  number  of  these  Friends  of  God  came  those  monks  and  ec- 
clesiastics who  took  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  spiritual  guidance  of 
the  laity,  preached  in  the  German  language,  and  labored  not  merely 
to  educate  the  laity  to  orthodox  thinking,  to  the  devotional  exercises 
of  the  church,  to  mortifications,  and  to  various  kinds  of  good  works, 
but  to  lead  them  forward  to  a  deeper  experience  of  Christianity,  to  a 
truly  divine  life  according  to  their  own  understanding  of  it.  Great 
and  striking  was  the  difference  between  the  common  preachers  who 
were  eager  to  display  their  own  acuteness  and  learning,  who  amused 
the  people  with  tales  and  legends,  warned  them  only  against  the 
grosser  sins,  and  recommended  almsgiving  and  donations  to  the 
church?  and  these  preachers  belonging  to  the  Friends  of  God,  who 
entered  profoundly  into  the  internal  religious  life,  and  sought  to  trace 
sanctification  back  to  a  hidden  life  in  God  as  its  inmost  ground. 
Great  and  striking  the  difference  between  those  who  had  no  other 
object  in  view  than  to  work  on  the  imagination  by  descriptions  of  hell 
and  of  purgatory,  and  thus  to  frighten  men  from  sin  or  drive  them  to 
purchase  indulgences,  and  those  men  wbo  pointed  beyond  fear  and  the 
hope  of  reward,  to  the  love  of  God  which  could  desire  no  higher  por- 
tion than  Himself!  From  the  number  of  these  Friends  of  God  came 
those  priests,  who,  scorning  to  be  troubled  by  the  common  scruples 
during  the  time  of  the  papal  interdict  and  amidst  the  ravages  of  the 
Black  Death,  bestowed  the  consolations  of  religion  on  the  forsaken 
people.  They  put  forth  from  Strasburg,  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
collective  body  of  the  clergy,  arguing  to  show  the  injustice  and  wrong 
of  leaving  the  poor,  ignorant  people  to  die  under  the  ban.i  Thus 
Tauler  in  Strasburg,  without  fear  of  the  black  vomit,  which  carried 
off  many  of  the  clergy,  labored  incessantly  during  the  interdict  for 
the  welfare  of  the  people.2  These  Friends  of  God  could  pursue  their 
wGrk  with  the  less  opposition,  because  they  recognized  in  all  the  stand- 
ing regulations  of  the  church  the  divine  appointment ;  because  they 
followed  the  principle  of  passive  obedience,  where  it  did  not  directly 
contradict  the  demands  of  their  own  consciences,  and  strictly  submitted 
to  their  ecclesiastical  superiors.  They  recommended  the  conscientious 
discharge  of  all  duties  required  by  the  church  laws,  looked  upon 
every  outward  exercise  of  religion  prescribed  by  the  church  as  a  pre- 
paration for  a  higher  stage  of  spiritual  perfection  ;  and  yet  they  knew 
how  to  warn  men  at  the  same  time  against  all  externalization  of  re- 

1  1  Schmidt,  p.  52.  longer    have   any  safe  residence   in   this 

2  So  the  Dominican,  Heinrich  von  Nord-  country."  Ibid.  pag.  881.  Margaretha 
lingen,  expresses  his  joy  over  the  great  Ebnenn,  of  Altorf,  who  stood  on  terms  of 
work  which  the  Lord  "wrought  through  intimate  connection  with  the  Friends  of 
him  in  the  hearts  of  men  in  the  midst  of  God,  obtained  the  assurance  by  a  vision, 
wretchedness;  and  he  remarks,  that  he  that  she  should  have  enough  in  the  invisi- 
would  prefer  to  die  by  the  black  vomit  ble  communion  with  Christ,  even  while 
rather  to  do  anything  against  the  Lord,  the  participation  of  the  holy  supper  was 
Heumanni  opnscola,  Norimb.  1747,  pag.  denied  to  her  through  the  interdict.  It 
393.  This  person  experienced  persecu-  was  said  to  her:  Christ  would  comfort  her 
tion  from  the  power  of  the  emperor.  He  with  his  words;  and  with  these  she  should 
writes:  "I  have  been  before  the  princes  give  strength  to  the  people.  Ibid.  pag. 
of  this  world,  who  treat  me  so,  that  I  no  340 


884  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

ligion  and  supposed  meritoriousness  of  good  works.  They  pointed 
constantly  from  external  things  to  the  more  hidden  depths  of  the 
religious  life.  Thus  Tauler,  in  a  sermon  where  he  compares  many 
prelates  of  his  time  with  blind  leaders  of  the  blind,  after  having  spoken 
of  the  several  gradations  of  spiritual  superiors,  from  the  pope  down- 
wards, remarks  :  "  Were  they  all  disposed  to  treat  me  ill,  to  be  wolves 
to  me,  and  snap  at  me,  I  am  still  to  lay  myself  in  true  resignation  and 
submissiveness  humbly  at  their  feet,  and  to  do  it  without  murmur  or 
gainsaying."  1  The  same  preacher  says :  "  Behold,  for  this,  have  all 
works  been  invented  and  devised,  with  good  exercises  of  virtue,  such  as 
prayer,  reading,  singing,  fasting,  watching  and  kneeling,  and  whatever 
other  virtuous  exercises  there  may  be,  that  the  man  may  be  occupied 
therewith  and  kept  away  from  foreign,  unsuitable,  ungodly  things."2 
Know,  that  shouldst  thou  let  thyself  be  stabbed  a  thousand  times  a 
day,  and  come  to  life  again ;  shouldst  thou  let  thyself  be  strung  to  a 
wheel,  and  eat  thorns  and  stones  ;  with  all  this,  thou  couldst  not  over- 
come sin  of  thyself.  But  sink  thyself  into  the  deep,  unfathomable 
mercy  of  God,  with  a  humble,  submissive  will,  under  God  and  all 
creatures,  and  know  that  then  alone  Christ  would  give  it  thee,  out 
of  his  great  kindness,  and  free  goodness,  and  love,  and  compas- 
sion." 3  We  may  quote  the  beautiful  words  where  he  describes 
love  as  a  power  mightier  than  all  outward  discipline  to  overcome  the 
obstinate  strivings  of  sin  and  sense  in  man.  He  says :  "  Now  mark, 
all  penance-life  has  been  devised  for  this  purpose  among  other  things, 
whether  it  be  vigils,  fasting,  weeping,  praying,  taking  discipline,  hair- 
shirts,  hard  beds,  and  whatever  else,  it  is  all  for  this  —  that  body  and 
flesh  being  at  all  times  against  the  spirit,  they  are  much  too  strong  for  it." 
These  outward  disciplines,  therefore,  he  regards  as  a  means  of  giving 
preponderance  to  the  spirit  by  weakening  the  flesh,  as  he  says,  "  and  for 
this,  that  we  may  come  to  the  help  of  the  spirit  in  these  straits,  may 
somewhat  cripple  the  flesh  in  this  conflict  by  putting  upon  it  the 
curb  of  penitence,  and  so  bringing  it  down  that  the  spirit  may  have 
a  chance  to  recover  itself."  Then  speaking  of  love,  as  a  much  higher 
power  to  subdue  the  flesh,  he  says  :  "  Wouldst  thou  master  and  break 
it  in  a  thousand  times  better  way  ?  then  lay  upon  it  the  curb  and  fet- 
ters of  love  ;  with  that  thou  wilt  overcome  it  easiest  of  all,  and  with 
love  thou  wilt  load  it  heaviest  of  all."  4  He  characterizes  reliance  on 
one's  own  good  works  as  a  thing  more  Jewish  than  Christian,  and  says : 
"  This  Jewish  way  many  people  have  ;  they  stand  upon  their  own 
ways  and  works  ;  they  would  verily  have  these  for  their  foundation  ; 
and  when  they  have  done  their  work,  the  whole  is  lost ;  yet  they  can 
neither  believe  God,  nor  any  one  else  who  tells  them  they  are  se- 
cretly building  on  their  works  and  upon  their  own  doings."  And  he 
proceeds  to  say,  "  I  do  not  mean  that  we  ought  to  omit  good  discipline  ; 
we  should  be  ever  exercising  ourselves  in  it ;  but  we  should  not  build 
on  it,  nor  rely  on  it."     And  he  spoke  against  those  who  were  looking 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  6  b;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  134.  3  Bas.  ed.  fol.  34  a ;  Fr.  ep.  I,  p.  280. 

*  Bas.  ed.  fol.  17  a;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  127.  4  Bas.  ed.  fol.  14  a ;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  159. 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD    IN    GERMAMY.  385 

for  access  to  God  by  such  ways  as  the  following,  "  that  they  wore  hair- 
shirts,  and  hair-neckcloths,  that  they  fasted,  and  watched,  and  prayed  ; 
that  they  had  for  forty  years  been  poor  men."  And,  he  adds  :  "  If 
you  have  done  all  the  human  works  that  have  ever  been  done,  yet  of 
all  this  you  shall  be  bare  and  empty  in  your  ground  as  those  that  have 
done  no  good  work,  small  or  great,  other  than  grace  for  grace  and 
what  has  come  from  the  great  mercy  of  God,  without  any  reservation 
of  confidence  in  your  own  preparation."  l  Ruysbroch,  speaking  of  the 
outward  expression  of  christian  love,  says :  "In  the  showing  forth  of 
this  love  thou  wilt  observe  thy  good  customs,  at  the  same  time  also  the 
rules  of  thy  monastic  order,  good  manners,  good  works,  and  all  ap- 
pointed and  regular  outward  discipline,  according  to  the  command- 
ments of  God  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  Holy  Church."  "  If 
—  says  he  —  thou  rightly  understandest  the  nature  of  love,  thou 
wilt  govern  thyself,  and  be  able  easily  to  overcome  the  world,  and  wilt 
daily  die  to  sin,  and  lead  a  life  of  striving  after  virtue."  Only  he  re- 
quires that  the  soul  should  free  itself  entirely  from  all  outward  and 
creaturely  objects,  cling  to  them  in  no  way  ;  that  it  should  freely  enter 
into  its  own  deepest  recesses,  so  as  to  rise  upward  from  this  centre 
to  God,  in  a  total  estrangement  of  this  inmost  centre  from  the  world. 
From  this  centre  of  its  being  the  soul  should  sink  and  lose  itself  in 
God.  Strive  after  this  alone,  that  thou  become  free  from  form  and 
image,  become  master  of  thyself;  so  thou  wilt  be  able  as  often  as  thou 
choosest  to  turn  thy  heart  and  eye  upward,  where  thy  treasure  and 
thy  heart  are  ;  and  thou  wilt  preserve  one  life  with  Him.  Nor  wilt 
thou  suffer  the  grace  of  God  within  thee  to  be  idle,  but  from  true  love 
wilt  exercise  thyself  heavenward,  in  praising  God  ;  below,  in  all  forms 
of  virtue  and  good  actions.  And,  in  whatever  outward  acts  thou  art 
employed,  let  thy  heart  be  free  and  disengaged  from  all,  so  that  as  oft 
as  thou  choosest,  thou  mayest  be  able,  through  all  and  above  all,  to 
contemplate  him  whom  thou  lovest."^  "Obedience  —  he  says  —  makes 
men  submissive  to  the  commands,  precepts,  and  will  of  God  ;  subjects 
sense  and  the  power  of  sense  to  the  higher  reason,  so  that  the  man 
lives  becomingly  and  in  conformity  to  reason.  It  makes  him  sub- 
missive also  to  the  church,  and  its  sacraments ;  to  its  superiors,  and 
to  all  the  doctrines  and  rules  of  the  church."3  Again,  he  says  : 
"  Show  thyself  willing  and  obedient  not  only  to  God,  but  also  to  the 
prelates  in  all  good  rules  and  exercises,  which  are  commonly  observed 
in  holy  church  ;  and  this  according  to  the  measure  of  thy  powers 
and  with  true  sobriety,  as  well  as  according  to  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  men  with  whom  thou  livest,  and  also  of  the  country  and 
district  where  thou  dwellest." 4  He  represents,  it  is  true,  the  outward 
exercises  of  penance  as  a  subordinate  thing,  and  makes  internal  peni- 
tence the  essential  matter  ;  but  yet  he"* holds  the  former  to  be  good 
in  its  proper  place,  and  remarks,  "  that  we  may  find  many,  who  seem 

1  Bas.  od.  fol.  33  b  ;  Fr.  ed.  II,  pp.  59,  60.  s  De  praecipuis   quibusdam  virtutibus, 

*  Rusbroch,  speculum  aeternae  sa  utis,  ibid.  pag.  170. 

opp.  Colon.  Agripp.  1692,  pag.  11  (ed.ann.  4  De  septem  amoris  gradibus,  pag.  221. 
1609,  pag.  21). 

VOL.    V.  33 


386  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

to  themselves  accomplishing  much  in  the  way  of  penance,  when  they 
practise  many  great,  severe,  and  outward  forms  of  discipline,  as  for  in- 
stance, fastings,  watchings,  and  other  like  works  of  penitence  ;  which, 
indeed,  are  without  doubt  well-pleasing  to  God,  and  necessary  for  him 
who  does  the  penance  ;  yet,  the  truest  and  best  penance,  and  that  by 
which  one  gets  nearest  to  God,  is  to  turn,  truly  and  from  the  heart,  to 
Him,  and  to  every  virtue,  for  God's  sake  ;  at  the  same  time,  turning 
entirely  away  from  everything  known  to  be  at  variance  with  God,  so 
as  to  feel  a  firm  assurance  in  one's  self  that  one  cannot  be  moved,  by 
anything  that  may  happen  to  do  anything  of  the  kind,  and  then  to 
have  a  firm  confidence  in  the  goodness  of  God  that  He  will  never 
cease  to  supply  all  needful  aid."  ]  Respecting  fasts,  he  says  :  "  Ra- 
tional or  spiritual  works  are  to  be  preferred  before  barely  outward 
works,  and  to  be  held  of  more  account  than  the  latter.  Yet  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  our  capability,  love  must  be  maintained  by  good 
works.  Christ  fasted  forty  days.  Imitate  him  in  this,  and  fast  in  a 
spiritual  manner,  keeping  thyself  from  all  sin  ;  and,  also,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  thy  ability,  in  a  bodily  manner." 

But  although  these  friends  of  God  conscientiously  adhered  to  the 
forms  of  the  church,  and  by  their  silent,  unobtrusive  piety,  and  their 
active  charity,  could  hardly  fail  to  secure  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  the  people,  whose  contempt  the  common  ecclesiastics  had  drawn 
down  upon  themselves,  still  they  had  their  opponents  ;  partly  those 
who  were  zealous  to  maintain  the  common  position  of  the  church,  and 
whose  suspicions  were  excited  by  that  more  liberal  spirit  of  the  Friends 
of  God  which  shone  so  conspicuously  through  their  conscientious  at- 
tachment to  the  church  ;  partly  the  advocates  of  a  secularized  Chris- 
tianity, who  felt  themselves  annoyed  by  the  more  serious  christian  life 
of  the  Friends  of  God.  Accordingly  they  were  nick-named  after  the 
common  fashion  in  that  age  of  applying  some  opprobrious  epithet  to 
those  who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  were  looked  upon  as  enthusiasts 
or  pietists  ;  they  were  called  Beghards  —  people  who  prayed  much. 
John  Ruysbroch  says  :  "  Though  the  servant  of  the  Lord  shows  himself 
faithful  in  outward  exercises  and  works,  yet  he  has  no  experience  of  that 
which  the  secret  friends  of  God  feel.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  such 
inexperienced  and  outward  men  find  fault  with  those  who  apply  them- 
selves to  the  internal  exercises.  They  suppose  that  such  persons  are 
wholly  idle  ;  like  Martha,  who  complained  to  the  Lord  of  her  sister, 
that  she  paid  him  no  attention."  2  And  Tauler,  speaking  of  those 
among  the  Jews  who  were  hostile  to  Christ  as  if  they  had  hearts  of 
stone,  says  :  "  Alas  !  why  should  it  be,  that  we  still  find  christian  men 
who,  Avhen  they  see  God's  friends  in  good  ways,  in  good  works,  im- 
mediately harbor  ill  will  towards  them,  become  at  heart  bitterly  opposed 
to  them,  count  as  nothing  their  works  which  they  do,  and  their  ways 
and  their  life,  and  invent  such  glosses  about  them  or  against  them  as 
to  prove  themselves  to  be  just  like  those  bad  Jews."  3     In  a  noticeable 

1  De  praec.  quibusd.  virt.,  pag.  185.  3  Bas.  ed.  fol.  32  b;  Fr.  ed.  II.  p  57. 

*  De  calculo,  pag.  825. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN    GERMANY.  387 

passage  Tauler  speaks  against  a  certain  class,  whom  he  thus  character- 
izes :  "  the  poor  blind  people  think  that  the  precious  sufferings  of  our 
Lord  Christ  were  to  pass  off  in  sport  and  without  fruit.  Their  reliance 
is  this,  that  they  stand  in  fraternity  with  some  spiritual  order  (the  fratres 
adscripti),  that  they  pray  and  read  ;  nay  —  says  he  —  thou  doest  all 
this  without  love  and  without  devotion,  with  a  distracted  heart,  so 
blindly  and  coldly,  that  it  is  a  wonder  to  think  of  it."  He  then  says  : 
They  confessed  in  words,  but  not  with  a  whole  will  and  from  the  bottom 
of  the  heart :  they  received  the  Lord's  body  ;  but  it  was  very  much  as 
if  one  should  invite  a  king  into  his  house  and  then  place  him  in  an  un- 
clean, offensive  stall  among  the  swine.  It  were  a  thousand  times  bet- 
ter for  them,  if  they  never  received  it.  And  if  any  one  took  pains  to 
warn  them  of  the  danger  of  their  position,  they  laughed  at  him  and 
said  :  "  It  is  all  Beghards'  talk,  or  nun?s  twaddle."  '  These  Friends 
of  God  exercised  a  great  influence  over  the  laity,  not  only  by  their 
preaching  and  attention  to  common  pastoral  duties,  but  it  was  a  part 
of  the  system  for  those  among  the  laity  who  longed  after  that  higher 
stage  of  christian  life  set  forth  by  the  Friends  of  God  in  their  sermons, 
to  surrender  themselves  entirely  up  to  some  individual  as  their  confes- 
sor and  guide  in  the  spiritual  life,  and  follow  his  instructions  as  if  it 
were  a  voice  from  heaven.  This  was 'simply  carrying  out  the  doctrine 
of  those  mystics  who  taught  that  it  was  a  duty  to  follow  implicitly  the 
guidance  of  those  who  were  recognized  as  organs  of  God.  And  un- 
questionably in  these  times,  when  the  deep-felt  and  often  times  wrongly 
interpreted  sense  of  religious  need,  the  high  state  of  religious  excite- 
ment in  connection  with  the  low  state  of  christian  knowledge,  exposed 
men  to  dangerous  temptations,  and  the  more  as  their  aspirations  rose 
higher  ;  when,  by  abandoning  themselves  to  their  feelings,  they  would 
be  very  likely  to  fall  into  dangerous  extravagances ;  earnest,  inquiring, 
but  ignorant  minds  did  greatly  need  the  guidance  of  some  prudent  in- 
dividual, experienced  in  the  trials  and  conflicts  of  the  spiritual  life. 
Well  then  might  Tauler,  after  describing  the  dangers  which  beset  him 
who  strove  after  such  an  object,  add  :  "  Therefore  the  safer  course  for 
those  who  would  fain  live  for  the  truth,  is  to  have  a  friend  of  God,  and 
submit  to  be  guided  by  him  according  to  God's  Spirit.  -Eighty  miles 
or  more  would  not  be  too  far  to  go  in  search  of  a  friend  of  God  who 
knew  the  right  way  and  could  direct  them  in  it."  2  And  in  another 
sermon,  where  he  labors  to  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  attain  true  renun- 
ciation of  one's  self  and  of  natural  things  and  to  betake  one's  self  solely 
to  God  in  the  inmost  depths  of  the  spirit,  he  says  :  "  Therefore  entreat 
the  beloved  friends  of  God  that  they  would  assist  you  in  it,  and  then 
give  your  whole  self  simply  and  solely  to  God  and  to  the  chosen  friends 
of  God,  that  they  may  carry  you  along  to  God  with  themselves."  3 
In  some  such  relation  to  Tauler  stood  a  remarkable  man,  afterward  a 
zealous  member  of  the  party  of  the  Friends  of  God,  Rulmann  Merswin 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  77  a;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  235.        *  Bas.  ed.  fol.  146  b;  Fr.  ed.  Ill,  p.  122 

[The  Francf.  ed.  which  in  general  is  quite        3  Bas.  ed.  fol.  28  b  ;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p  265. 
incorrect  in  its  text,  has,  instead  of  Beg- 
harden,  "  Bejahrte."     Ed.] 


888  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

of  Strasburg.  This  person,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  respecta- 
ble families  of  that  city,  was  a  rich  broker  and  merchant.  In  his  for- 
tieth year  (1847),  after  losing  his  first  wife,  he  contracted  a  second 
marriage,  and  having  no  issue  by  either,  he  with  the  concurrence  of  his 
second  wife  resolved  to  retire  wholly  from  the  world.  He  applied  his 
great  wealth  to  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  founding  institutions  of 
christian  charity.  He  had  much  to  struggle  with  in  endeavoring  to 
attain  to  a  godly  life,  being  too  much  governed  by  his  momentary  feel- 
ings. The  natural  and  the  divine  element  were  strangely  mixed  up  to- 
gether in  his  character.  He  easily  brought  himself  to  believe  that  cer- 
tain visions,  the  product  of  his  own  highly  excited  feelings  and  heated  im- 
agination were  divine  revelations.  The  excessive  mortifications  which  he 
imposed  on  himself  impaired  his  health,  and  the  morbid  affections  which 
he  thus  contracted  may  perhaps  have  exerted  some  disturbing  influence 
both  on  his  feelings  and  onhis  intellect.  Tauler,  who,  as  Ave  have  seen,  dis 
approved  of  this  mode  of  crucifying  the  flesh,  being  chosen  by  this  man 
as  his  guide,  bade  him,  as  a  friend  of  God,  to  desist  from  these  im- 
moderate self-tortures,  and  not  destroy  his  health  ;  for  he  was  ex- 
tremely anxious  lest,  by  the  course  he  was  now  pursuing  he  might  sud- 
denly become  insane.  Merswin,  as  he  informs  us  himself,  thought  it 
his  duty  to  obey.1  In  the  year  1353  he  composed,  in  the  German 
language,  a  widely  circulated  eccentric  mystical  work,  under  the  im- 
pulse, as  he  believed,  of  a  divine  call,  containing  many  strange  and 
fanciful  notions  mixed  up  with  a  good  deal  that  is  true.  It  was  en- 
titled the  Book  of  the  Nine  Rocks.  This  work  was  included,  though  not 
in  its  complete  form,  among  the  works  of  Henry  Suso,  and  ascribed  to 
him  as  the  author.2  With  great  freedom  he  here  describes  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  church  through  all  its  orders,  from  highest  to  lowest. 
He  says  of  the  popes  :  "  Look  around  and  mark  how  the  popes  in  these 
times  live  and  have  lived,  whether  they  have  not  had  more  regard  for 
themselves,  more  concern  to  know  how  they  shall  maintain  their  own 
state,  than  how  the  glory  of  God  may  be  promoted  ?  And  look  around 
and  see  whether  they  do  not  court  temporal  possessions  with  a  view  to 
advance  the  interests  of  their  temporal  friends,  and  help  on  their  pro- 
motion to  temporal  honors."  3  It  is  deserving  of  notice  that  this  man 
was  led,  by  the  more  liberal  character  of  his  mysticism,  to  question  in 
this  book  the  doctrine  that  all  unbelievers  are  lost  ;  mantaining  that, 
among  the  Jews,  Turks,  and  pagans,  were  many  men  of  good  life, 
who  would,  before  their  end,  be  led  by  a  particular  inward  revelation 
to  the  knowledge  of  a  Saviour  and  to  faith  in  him  ;  and  that  we  shall 

1  We  quote  from  the  above  mentioned  nnd  gebot   mir   bi   gehorsamme   das   ich 

excellent  work  of  Prof.  Schmidt,  of  Stras-  mich  in  keinre  uebungen  solte  me  uebeu, 

burg,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  an  ac-  und  mahte  mir  daran  ein  zil.  und  ich  mus- 

count  of  this  man,  eminently  characteristic  te  gehorsam  sin.     Schmidt,  p.  178  note, 
of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  Merswin's         2  That  the  work,  however,  is  not  to  be 

own  words  on  the  subject :  Und  in  densel-  ascribed  to  him,  but  to  Merswin,  has  been 

ben  ziten  was  bruoder  Johans  tauweler  der  proved  on  documentary  evidence  by  Prof 

brediger  min  bichter.     Der  befant  ettewas  Schmidt,  in  his  work  above  cited,  p.  180 

minre  uebungen,  wanne  er  nam  es  ware  Compare  also  Illgen's  Zeitschriftfur  his- 

das  ich  gar  krang  in  der  natuoren  geriet  torische  Tbeologie.     1839,  Heft.  2,  p.  61. 
werden.     Und  er  vorhte  mins   houbetes        3  Schmidt,  p.  216. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.  389 

meet  many  such  in  the  world  to  come.1  We  see  by  the  example  of  this 
individual,  how  laymen  as  well  as  clergymen  might  be  enrolled  among 
the  Friends  of  God  ;  and  in  the  case  of  the  former,  who  were  not  so 
strictly  educated  in  the  theology  of  the  schools,  we  see  how  it  might 
sometimes  happen  that  they  would  be  led,  by  this  freer  tendency  of  the 
religious  spirit,  without  being  conscious  of  it  or  intending  it,  into  many 
unchurchly  convictions,  and  how  this  might  become  a  channel  through 
which  the  influence  of  unchurchly  tendencies  might  be  introduced 
among  the  Friends  of  God  generally.  We  cannot  be  surprized  at  the 
fact,  therefore,  that  among  the  Friends  of  God  there  were  many  sec- 
tional differences,  from  a  more  strict  churchly  direction  to  a  tendency 
bordering  on  the  heretical,  or  entirely  heretical. 

The  position  maintained  by  those  friends  of  God,  whose  inward  Chris- 
tianity made  them  more  free  from  the  influence  of  the  hierarchical 
spirit,  is  characteristically  presented  before  us,  when  we  see  a  priest 
of  the  Dominican  order,  and  a  famous  preacher,  placing  himself  in  the 
relation  we  have  described  to  a  layman  who  appeared  to  him  more  ad- 
vanced than  himself  in  holy  living,  and  making  that  layman  his  guide  in 
the  spiritual  life.  We  meet  with  an  ancient  account  2  of  a  layman 
living  120  miles  from  the  city  of  Strasburg,  who,  by  a  divine  call  in 
a  thrice  repeated  vision,  was  conducted,  in  the  year  1340,  to  Tauler, 
then  already  a  preacher  of  note.  In  his  first  interview  he  requested 
the  latter  to  preach  before  him  a  discourse  on  the  way  to  christian  per- 
fection. The  sermon  did  not  produce  the  effect  which  Tauler  expected  ; 
and  the  stranger  afterwards  explained  to  him  that  he  had  not  come  to 
learn  from  him  how  to  attain  to  the  most  perfect  life,  but  with  the  in- 
tention and  hope  of  doing  him  some  good.  He  then  proceeded  to 
speak  of  that  internal  master,  respecting  whom  Tauler  himself  had 
spoken  in  his  sermon.  "  Know,"  said  he,  "  that  when  this  same 
master  comes  to  me,  he  teaches  me  more  in  an  hour,  than  you,  and  all 
the  teachers  who  are  of  time,  could  teach  me  if  they  went  on  to  the 
last  day."  And  he  assured  Tauler  to  his  great  amazement,  that  he 
must  consider  him  a  mere  man  of  books  and  a  pharisee.  The  pious 
gentle  preacher  did  not  let  himself  grow  angry  at  such  language  from 
a  layman  addressed  to  a  priest  and  doctor  of  theology,  but  instead  of 
disdainfully  turning  away  from  him,  calmly  listened  to  all  he  had 
to  say.  The  layman  went  on  to  distinguish  two  different  sorts  of  phar- 
isees,  the  malignant  and  the  well  intcntioned ;  those  whose  doctrines 
and  life,  though  they  were  unconscious  of  it  themselves,  did  not  per- 
fectly harmonize ;  whose  preaching  consisted  more  of  the  letter  and 
of  rational  knowledge,  than  of  the  truth  contained  in  the  life  and  in- 
ternal experience  of  the  heart ;  who,  though  they  knew  how  to  discourse 
finely  of  pure  love  to  God,  and  of  communion  with  him,  were  still  en- 
tangled in  creaturely  love,  without  any  true  experience  as  yet  of  vital 
communion  of  the  heart  with  God.     Tauler  felt  himself  touched  to  the 

1  The  same,  p.  219.    This  portion  is  not        *  In  the  Hist.  Tauleri  in  the  Bas.  edi 
included  in  the  writings  published  under    tion,  before  the  Sermons, 
tho  name  of  Suso. 

33* 


390  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

quick  by  many  things  winch  the  stranger  said.  He  chose  him  as  the 
friend  of  God  who  was  to  be  his  guid^  ;  got  him  to  prescribe  the  way 
to  a  new  spiritual  development ;  retired  for  a  season  from  his  labors 
in  the  pulpit ;  but  on  returning  to  his  duties  found  himself  so  overcome 
and  unmanned  by  his  feelings,  as  to  be  unable  to  utter  a  word.  The 
preacher  who  was  before  so  famous,  was  now  laughed  at.  But  after- 
wards, when  he  had  fully  recovered  himself,  he  stood  forth  with  fresh 
energy  and  labored  more  abundantly  than  ever.  This  story,  no  better 
authenticated,  might  be  regarded  by  many  as  a  figment  of  legendary 
tradition,  a  pure  fabrication  or  an  intermixture  of  poetry  and  historical 
truth.1  But  we  have,  in  this  case,  at  least  one  example  which  might 
teach  a  lesson  of  caution  to  those  who  would  banish  from  history  every- 
thing that  looks  like  poetry,  and  retain  the  trivial  only  as  matter  of 
historical  fact.  This  story  has  very  recently  become  established  as 
matter  of  history  on  the  ground  of  authentic  records  And  we  obtain 
a  more  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  man  as  an  historical  personage, 
who  came,  according  to  the  legend,  from  a  town  120  miles  from  Stras- 
burg,  .  He  was  a  person  of  great  influence  in  that  period,  named  Nich- 
olas of  Basle.  He  then  belonged  to  the  Waldensian  sect,  the  members 
of  which  would,  for  the  reasons  already  hinted  at,  be  very  likely  to 
find  in  the  more  liberal  christian  tendences  of  the  Friends  of  God  scat- 
tered about  in  that  district,  many  points  of  mutual  agreement.  But  it 
may  be  commonly  remarked  that  when  a  determinate  spiritual  tendency 
becomes  predominant  in  any  period  or  district,  it  is  wont  to  impart  some- 
thing of  its  own  peculiar  stamp  to  other  spiritual  appearances  that  may 
happen  to  possess  anything  in  common  with  itself,  though  the  two  may 
in  other  respects  differ  entirely  in  character,  just  as  in  the  physical 
world  a  prevailing  epidemic  will  make  other  forms  of  disease  run  into 
its  own  form.  Thus  the  Waldensians  in  the  district  of  the  Rhine,  did 
not  at  that  time  remain  wholly  true  to  their  original  direction,  since 
this  at  the  outset  was  a  more  simply  practical  one.  The  predominant 
spirit  of  mysticism  communicated  itself  also  to  them  ;  and  there  grew 
up  a  section  of  Waldensian  Friends  of  God,  which,  paying  less  homage 
than  the  others  did  to  the  church  spirit,  developed  itself  with  greater 
freedom  of  doctrine  in  opposition  to  the  dominant  church.  To  this 
party  belonged  Nicholas,  a  man  who  by  oral  discourses  and  writings  in 
the  Latin  and  German  languages  labored  to  introduce  a  more  experi- 
mental Christianity,  and  exerted  a  great  and  widely  extended  influence. 
At  Basle  he  had  heard  much  about  the  piety  and  influence  of  Tauler.3 
But  from  his  Waldensian  point  of  view  he  might  probably  be  led  to 
conjecture  that  this  famous  preacher  was  after  all  wanting  in  true 
freedom  of  christian  spirit ;  and  from  what  he  had  heard  of  his  pious, 
humble  character,  he  might  perhaps  hope  to  succeed  in  exercising  a 

1  This  story,  as  is  well  known,  has  been  3  We  see  from  Schmidt's  quotation  p. 
worked  up  into  a  book  of  great  poetic  29  note,  that  in  a  Munich  manuscript  in 
beauty,  by  Tieck,  in  his  novel  "  der  Schutz-  the  account  of  Tauler,  the  words  of  this 
geist."  unknown    layman    are   found,   which    are 

2  By  the  investigations  of  Schmidt,  in  wanting  in  the  printed  editions :  "  Wan 
his  work  before  cited,  p.  25,  note  5.  mir  vil  von  euer  ler  daheim  ist  gesagt." 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD    IN    GERMANY.  391 

wholesome  influence  on  the  christian  knowledge  and  the  christian  life 
of  the  man.     It  may  well  be  doubted,  indeed,  whether  Nicholas,  who, 
with  a  view  to  extend  the  sphere  of  his  usefulness  in  promoting  the 
religious  life,  rarely  mentioned  his  own  anti-churchly  tendencies,  would 
say  anything  to  Tauler  about  his  connection  with  the  Waldcnsians  ; 
still  it  is  impossible  to  know  how  much  confidential  intercommunication 
may  have  taken  place  between  the  two  men.     And  Tauler  as  long  as 
he  lived  continued  to  maintain  the  most  intimate  and  friendly  relations 
with  this  layman.     This  Nicholas  of  Basle  was,  as  we  have  said,  ex- 
tremely cautious  in  disseminating  his  principles.     He  laid  himself  out 
to  work  on  the  minds  of  the  people  more  particularly  by  writings  in  the 
German  language.     In  a  tract  composed  in  the  year  1356,  he  defended 
the  circulation  of  German  writings  among  the  laity  against  the  doubts 
entertained  by  many  of  its  expediency.     He  speaks  on  this  matter  also 
with  great  moderation.     He  allows  that  such  doubts  were,  in    some 
respects,  well  founded  ;  in  respect  to  writings,  namely,  which  required 
many  explanations  in  order  to  be  rightly  understood,  and  which  there- 
fore by  being  misapprehended  might  easily  lead  to  error.     Such  writ- 
ing belonged  exclusively  to  the  priests,  and   should  not  be   translated 
into  German.     But  the  case  stood  otherwise  with  simple,  practical,  and 
plainly  composed  christian  writings,  suited   to   the  understanding  and 
wants  of  the  laity.       He  says  "  those  book-learned  men,  who  would 
keep  the  laity  from  reading  these,  sought  their  own  glory  more   than 
the  glory  of  God."     "  But,"  he  adds,  "  where  you  find  teachers,  who 
have  no  eye  to  themselves,  you  should  gladly  hear  them  ;  for  whatever 
such  teachers  counsel,  comes  from  the  Holy  Spirit."     He  says  chris- 
tian order  can  never  be  restored,  till  men  follow  the  counsel  which 
comes  from  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  such  cannot  be  at  variance  with  Holy 
Scripture,  for  Holy  Scripture  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  one.     "  If,  he 
adds,  "  a  great  lord  of  this  world,  or  a  whole  district  or  city  should 
ask  me  how,  as  things  now  stand,  men  may  return  to  God,  and   find 
reconciliation  with   him,  I   would  advise   that  they  should   seek  that 
counsel  which  comes  from  the  Holy  Spirit,  whether  such  counsel  pro- 
ceed from  priest  or  layman.  "  J     In  all  this  we  may  easily  recognize 
the  general  drift  and  tendency  above  described,  though  there  is  an  at- 
tempt to  conceal  it.     We  recognize  a  man  who  estimated  the  inward 
voice  of  the  spirit  above  all  outward  authority,  and  who  certainly  there- 
fore could  not  be  inclined  to  pay  that  authority  the  same   submissive 
homage  with  other  Friends  of  God.       The   mystical    bent   may  un- 
doubtedly have  led  many  to  entertain  very  free  opinions  respecting  the 
apostles,  whose  characters  they  would  estimate  according  to  their  own 
peculiar  principles  of  christian  perfection.     It  would  not  be  strange  i\ 
such  persons  to  accuse  an  apostle  Paul  of  boasting  too  much  of  his  own 
labors.    But  Nicholas  was  widely  removed  from  all  this.  He  says  of  such, 
"  Mark,  my  beloved  brethren,  how  some  men  are  scandalized  at   the 
words  of  holy  Paul,  who  was  a  bright  shining  light,  a  full  vessel  over- 
flowing with  lovely  humility."     All   that  he  said   to  his  brethren,  or 

1  Schmidt,  p.  231. 


392  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

wrote  to  them,  was  suited  to  the  times  when  Christianity  began  ;  ami 
there  was  need  of  it  too.  He  wrote  from  divine  love,  and  never  had 
an  eye  to  himself ;  in  all  things  he  had  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of 
God.  And  I  believe  if  the  words  addressed  to  John  the  Baptist,  had 
been  spoken  to  the  apostle  Paul,  he  would  in  like  manner  have  answered, 
"  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose  his  shoe's  lachet."  l  This  Nicholas 
directly  or  indirectly  exerted  a  great  influence,  as  a  guide  and  counsellor 
in  the  spiritual  life,  on  many  who  never  had  the  remotest  suspicion  of 
his  heretical  tendencies.  But  he  could  not  always  succeed  in  escaping 
the  suspicion  of  the  head  of  the  church  ;  and  from  some  hints  which 
he  drops  we  may  understand  the  perilous  situation  in  which  these  more 
free-minded  Friends  of  God  sometimes  found  themselves  placed.  He 
writes :  "Ah,  beloved  brethren,  may  God  in  his  infinite  goodness,  in 
this  present  time  of  Christianity,  have  pity.  For  know,  the  Friends  of 
God  are  in  a  great  strait.  But  what  is  to  come  of  it,  they  know  not, 
God  only  knows."  2  Having  succeeded  through  a  long  life  in  escaping 
the  snares  of  the  inquisition,3  he  undertook  when  very  old,  in  company 
with  two  of  his  disciples,  to  make  a  journey  to  France,  where  probably 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  disseminate  his  doctrines.  At  Vienne, 
he  was  arrested  by  the  inquisition,  together  with  one  of  his  disciples ; 
and  as  nothing  could  induce  him  to  consent  to  a  recantation,  he  was 
handed  over,  as  an  heretical  Beghard  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  died 
at  the  stake. 

The  highest  regions  of  the  interior  life  in  souls  where  impure  elements 
rule,  are  exposed  to  the  most  dangerous  perturbations  ;  the  deepest  truths 
of  religion,  when  they  are  not  purely  apprehended,  may  intermingle 
indistinguishably  with  the  most  dangerous  misconceptions.  It  is  often 
but  a  very  thin,  and  subtle  line,  which  separates  truth  from  error.  Thus 
the  doctrine  of  these  Friends  of  God  respecting  man's  ability  and  duty 
to  go  back  to  the  deepest  grounds  of  his  being  ;  respecting  an  inward 
concentration  of  the  mind  withdrawn  from  every  thing  creaturely  ; 
utter  renunciation  of  self,  and  absorption  in  God,  was  liable  to  pass 
over  into  very  serious  errors.  Where  the  longing  for  union  with  God 
was  not  ever  accompanied  side  by  side  with  a  consciousness  of  the  self- 
subsistence  of  the  creaturely  spirit,  and  the  infinite  exaltation  of  God 
above  the  world,  with  a  consciousness  of  sin  standing  in  contrariety 
with  the  holiness  of  God,  with  a  humility  never  forgetting  for  a  moment 
the  strict  line  that  separates  the  creature  from  the  Creator,  the  sobriety 
and  modesty  of  true  humility  ;  where  an  unbridled  imagination,  a  specu- 
lative spirit  ignorant  of  its  proper  limits,  where  the  intoxication  of  a 
soul  governed  entirely  by  its  feelings,  intermingled  with  the  natural 
and  the  divine,  and  took  complete  possession  of  the  man ;  in  a  word, 
where  the  mind,  instead  of  holding  fast  to  God  revealed  in  Christ, 
would  sink  itself,  without  any  mediation,  in  the  unfathomable  abyss  of 

1  In  a  letter  to  the  Strasburg  Johan-  tfoned,  Formicarius,  pag.  304 :  Acutissi- 
nites,  in  the  year  1377,  Schmidt,  p.  234.  mus  enim  erat  et  verbis  errores  coloratissi- 

2  The  same,  p.  235.  me  velare  noverat.     Idcirco  etiam  manus 

3  The  Dominican  John  Nieder,  of  Sua-  inquisitorum  diu  evaserat  et  multo  tem- 
bia,  says  of  him  in  his  book,  already  men-  pore. 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD   IN    GERMANY.  393 

God  unrevealed  ;  in  all  these  cases  and  the  like,  they  who  knew 
not  how  to  guard  against  such  dangers,  by  strict  watchfulness  over 
themselves,  plunged  into  the  gulf  of  pantheistic  self-deification.  Thus 
arose  that  wildly  fanatical  pantheistic  mysticism,  which  was  for  get- 
ting beyond  Christ,  beyond  all  positive  revelation,  all  humanization 
of  the  divine,  as  we  see  it  exemplified  particularly  among  a  portion 
of  the  so-called  Beghards,  of  whom  we  shall  say  more  hereafter,  as 
well  as  among  the   so-called  Brothers  and  Sisters  of  the  Free  Spirit, 

—  a  community  already  characterized  by  their  name,  the  advocates 
of  that  false  liberty,  grounded  in  pantheism,  which  scorned  all  the  set- 
tled landmarks  of  holy  order.  The  opposition  is  strongly  marked  be- 
tween the  theistic  Friends  of  God  of  whom  we  have  thus  far  been  speak- 
ing, and  the  pantheistic  class.  While  in  the  former  we  may  see  fore- 
tokens of  a  direction  which  led  to  the  Reformation  ;  in  the  latter  we 
see,  no  less  clearly,  the  foretokens  of  a  thoroughly  antichristian  ten- 
dency, hostile  to  everything  supernatural,  every  intimation  of  a  God 
above  the  world  ;  a  tendency  which  contained,  first  in  the  form  of  mys- 
ticism, the  germ  of  absolute  Rationalism  and  the  deification  of  reason, 

—  a  tendency  which,  after  many  attempts,  often  repelled  and  continu- 
ally renewed,  was  eventually  to  appear  in  a  contest  for  life  and  death 
with  Christianity  itself.  As  the  theistic  element  distinguished  the  first 
class  of  the  Friends  of  God  from  the  second,  so  was  it  also  a  distin- 
guishing mark  between  the  two  classes,  that  by  the  first  it  was  held 
necessary  to  unite  the  contemplative  with  the  practical  life,  the  intui- 
tive absorption  in  God  with  active  love ;  while  by  the  others,  on  the 
contrary,  a  pantheistic  quietism  that  despised  all  active  labor,  was  ex- 
tolled as  the  highest  perfection.  A  sharply  defined  boundary  may,  in- 
deed, be  observed  between  these  two  ground-tendencies,  wherever  they 
are  fully  and  consciously  expressed  ;  but  these  tendencies  did  not  al- 
ways so  exhibit  themselves  as  to  be  easily  distinguished.  Many,  by 
pushing  the  above  mentioned  ground-intuitions  and  tendencies  of  the  re- 
ligious life  into  an  extreme,  by  running  into  a  sort  of  speculation  which 
was  mixed  up  with  the  feelings,  and  failed  of  paying  due  respect  to  the 
proper  limits  of  all  speculation,  by  a  certain  intoxication  of  self-forget- 
ting love  that  discarded  calm  reflection,  were  unconsciously  betrayed 
into  effusions  and  expressions  upon  which  that  wild  fanatical  pantheism 
might  afterwards  seize  and  fasten  itself.  We  reckon  among  such  that 
Master  Eckhart,  of  the  Dominican  order,  whom  Tauler  mentions  as  hi3 
teacher.  This  person,  a  Saxon  by  origin,  stood  in  high  estimation  with 
his  order,  having  been  made  first  provincial  of  the  Dominican  order  for 
Saxony,  in  the  year  1304,  when  it  was  found  expedient,  on  account  of 
the  extent  of  territory,  to  separate  this  part  of  the  order  from  that  be- 
longing to  the  rest  of  Germany  and  constitute  it  a  province  by  itself.1 
We  may  mention  in  particular,  for  an  example,  that  passage  of  Eck- 
hart, where  he  describes  God's  essence  as  being  the  darkness  from 
which  all  things  sprung,  and  to  which  they  are  to  return  :  "  Verily  God 
himself  rests  not  there  where  he  is  the  first  beginning  ;   he  rests  there 

1  Quetif  et  Echard  script,  ord.  praedic,  Paris  1719,  torn.  I,  fol.  507,  VI. 


394  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

"where  he  is  an  end  and  a  rest  of  all  being.  Not  that  this  being  comes 
to  nothing,  but  it  is  there  completed  in  its  ultimate  end  according  to  its 
highest  perfection.  "What  is  this  ultimate  end  ?  It  is  the  hidden  dark- 
ness of  the  eternal  Godhead,  and  is  unknown,  and  will  never  be  known. 
God  there  remains  unknown  to  himself;  and  the  light  of  the  Eternal  Fa- 
ther, this  has  eternally  shone  in  there,  and  the  darkness  comprehend- 
eth  not  the  light."  '  For  another  example,  take  his  words  on  the  Lo- 
gos :  "  That  is  no  longer  an  essence,  then,  which  gives  all  things  an 
essence  and  life,  when  the  Son  is  generated  from  the  heart  of  the  Father, 
eternally  to  bring  in  again  all  things  which  in  him  have  gone  forth." 
He  cites,  as  referring  to  this,  the  words  of  Christ  :  "  And  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me,"  and  then  adds  : 
"  The  Holy  -Spirit  proceeds  forth  as  a  love  to  make  our  spirit  one  with 
him.  Therefore  the  Son  brings  in  again  with  him  all  things  which  in 
him  have  gone  forth.  And  therefore  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  in  again 
with  all  that  which  he  has  spiritualized."  2  Eckhart  defines  as  true 
righteousness  those  works  only  which  proceed,  without  reflection,  from 
the  inward  constraining  influence  of  the  divine  life.  "  The  just  man  — 
he  says  —  searches  not  into  his  own  works.  For  they  who  seek  for 
anything  in  their  own  wrorks,  are  all  servants  and  hirelings  ;  or  they 
who  work  for  some  wherefore,  whether  it  be  blessedness,  or  eternal  life, 
or  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  or  whatever  else  in  time  or  in  eternity,  all 
such  are  not  righteous.  For  righteousness  consists  in  this,  that  a  man 
work  without  respect  to  a  wherefore.  And  hence  if  thou  wouldst  be 
informed  or  over-formed  in  righteousness,  think  not  of  thy  works,  nor 
image  to  thyself  any  wherefore,  either  in  time  or  in  eternity,  either  re- 
ward or  blessedness,  either  this  thing  or  that  thing.  For  all  the  works 
thou  performest  from  the  movement  of  the  imagination,  or  out  of  the 
imagination,  verily  these  works  are  all  dead.  Nay,  may  I  say  it  ?  but  I 
will  say  it,  and  it  is  this  :  that  if  thou  dost  image  to  thyself  even  God, 
whatever  thou  doest  from  respect  to  this,  I  speak  truly,  thy  works  are  all 
dead  ;  they  are  faults,  they  are  nothing,  and  they  are  not  barely  no- 
thing, but  thou  destroyest  by  them  even  the  works  that  are  good."  3 
We  may  mention,  furthermore,  that  proposition,  so  variously  abused  by 
fanatical  pantheism,  that  all  which  God  works,  man  works  with  him. 
Accordingly  he  asserts  that  the  good  works  which  a  man  performs  while 
in  mortal  sin,  are  not  on  that  account  lost ;  evil  and  good  works,  in  them- 
selves considered,  and  the  time  in  which  they  are  done,  are  all  lost ; 
they  have  no  abiding  permanence  except  on  the  ground  of  the  spirit 
from  which  they  proceed,  and  from  this  ground  come  the  good  works 
also  which  may  be  done  in  mortal  sin,  and  not  from  the  man  who  is  in 
this  mortal  sin.2     There  were  extracted  from  Eckhart's  writings  and 

1  Eckhart's  Sermons,  in  an  appendix  to  place   in   themselves.      Jf  the   man   does 

the   Hamburg  edition  (1621)   of  Tauler's  good  works,  whilst  he  is  in  mortal  sin,  yet  he 

Sermons,  p.  23.  does  not  the  works  of  mortal  sin ;  if  the 

8  The  same,  p.  10.  works   are  good,  the  mortal  sins  are  evil. 

3  The  same,  p.  4.  He  works  them  out  of  the  ground  of  his 

4  His  own  words  are:  So  then  labor  spirit,  which,  in  itself,  is  naturally  good; 
and  time  are  lost  together:  bad  and  good  but  he  is  not  in  grace.  "  In  a  Sermon  in 
thev  are  all  lost  at  once,  if  they  have  no  Mone's  "  Anzeiger  fur  Kunde  der  tcut- 
abiding  iu   the  spirit,  an*1   no   being   nor  schen  Vorzeit."     Jahrgang  1837,  p.  72. 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD    IX    GERMANY.  395 

sermons  twenty-six  propositions  connected  with  a  pantheistic  mode  of 
thinking,  or  verging  upon  such  a  mode  of  thinking,  which  found  their 
common  point  of  union  in  assertions  similar  to  those  ahove  quoted  ;  and 
these  were  formally  condemned.  But  as  Eckhart  gave  up  to  this  de- 
cision, retracting  those  propositions  in  every  sense  in  which  they  were 
found  heretical  or  scandalous,  and  in  general  submitted  himself  to  be 
corrected  by  the  pope  and  the  church,  no  further  steps  were  taken 
against  him  personally,  and  he  was  permitted  to  end  his  days  in  peace. 
But  when  it  was  found  that  similar  doctrines  were  widely  disseminated 
among  mystical  societies,  pope  John  XXII.  put  forth,  in  the  year  1329, 
a  bull,  complaining  with  justice  that  such  doctrines  wore  held  forth  in 
sermons  to  the  simple  people.1  Yet  in  vindication  of  the  memory  of 
the  departed  Eckhart,  he  immediately  subjoined  what  has  been  stated 
above.  We  may  here  quote  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
propositions.  It  was  asserted  that  God  and  the  world  are  correlative 
conceptions,  and  that  it  may  be  said  God  created  the  world  from  eter- 
nity ;2  that  in  all  works,  good  as  well  as  evil,  in  their  guilt  and  their 
punishment,  God  is  in  like  manner  manifested  and  glorified  ;  that  he 
who  prays  for  this  or  that  particular  thing,  prays  for  what  is  bad  in  a 
bad  way,  because  he  prays  for  a  negation  of  the  good  and  a  negation 
of  God,  and  prays  that  God  may  be  denied  to  him.  In  those  who  seek 
for  nothing,  neither  honor,  nor  profit,  nor  devotion,  nor  holiness,  nor  re- 
ward, nor  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  have  renounced  all,  even  that  which 
is  their  own,  in  such  God  is  glorified.  We  are  transformed  wholly  into 
God,  and  transformed  into  him  in  the  same  way  as,  in  the  sacrament, 
the  bread  is  transformed  into  the  body  of  Christ.  I  become  thus  trans- 
formed into  him  because  it  is  he  himself  who  brings  it  about  that  I  am 
his.  All  that  the  Father  gave  to  his  Son  when  born  into  human  nature, 
all  this  he  has  given  to  me  ;  I  except  nothing  here,  neither  unity  nor 
holiness  ;  but  he  has  given  all  to  me  as  to  himself.  All  that  the  holy 
Scriptures  say  of  Christ,  is  true  also  of  every  good  and  godlike  man. 
Everything  that  belongs  to  the  divine  essence,  belongs  also  to  the  godly 
and  righteous  man  ;  therefore  such  a  person  does  all  that  God  does, 
and  with  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  is  a  begetter  of 
the  eternal  Word,  and  God  can  do  nothing  without  such  a  person. 
The  good  man  must  make  his  own  will  so  identical  with  God's  will  as 
to  will  all  that  God  wills  ;  because  God,  in  a  certain  sense,  wills  that  I 
should  have  sinned,  I  ought  not  to  wish  that  I  had  not  sinned.  God  has 
not,  strictly  speaking,  laid  down  rules  for  outward  action.  All  crea- 
tures are  purely  nothing  ;  I  say  not  that  they  are  something,  but  purely 
nothing.  There  is  in  the  soul  something  uncreated,  and  exalted  above 
all  that  is  created  ;  if  the  whole  soul  were  this,  it  would  be  itself  un- 
created  and  exalted  above  all  that  is  created  ;   and  this  is  spirit. 

1    Quae   docuit   quam  maxime   coram  tunc,  sicut  nunc,  quod   dsus  non   potuit 

vulgo   simplici    in  suis   praedicationibus.  primo  producere  mnndiim,   quia  res  non 

Comp.  Raynaldi  Ann.  at  the  year  1329,  potest  agere  antcquam  sit,  undo  qtiara  cito 

no.  70  and  71.  deus  fuit,  tain  cito  nninduin  creavit ;  item 

2  Interrogate  quandoque,  quare  deus  concedi  potest,  mundum  f'uisse  ab  aeterno. 

mundum  non  prius  produxerit,  respondit  Ibid. 


896  HISTORY   OP   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

God  is  neither  good,  nor  the  best ;  it  is  just  as  incorrect  to  call  him 
so,  as  to  call  him  black  or  white. * 

We  may  now  consider  how  Ruysbroch  and  Tauler  contended  against 
the  pantheistic  and  quietistic  views,  the  mistaken  strivings  after  freedom, 
which  appeared  in  the  forms  we  have  described.  The  former  says : 2 
"  We  may  meet  with  godless  and  devilish  men,  who  affirm  that  they  are 
God  or  Christ,  and  that  their  hands  created  heaven  and  earth,  and  on 
their  hands  all  these  things  depend  ;  and  that  they  are  above  all  sacra- 
ments of  the  church,  that  they  need  them  not,  and  wish  them  not.  The 
ordinances  of  the  church  and  what  the  holy  fathers  have  recorded  on 
parchment,  they  despise  ;  but  their  own  godless  heresy,  and  a  life 
which  is  bound  by  no  ordinances  or  institutions,  and  the  beastly  cus- 
toms invented  by  themselves,  they  hold  to  be  very  holy  and  excellent. 
And  yet  they  have  banished  from  themselves  the  love  and  fear  of 
God  ;  and  they  disdain  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  But  they 
have  found  within  themselves  something  transcendent,  above  reason ; 
and  they  have  wholly  drunk  in  the  opinion,  that  on  the  day  of  final 
judgment  all  rational  creatures,  evil  as  well  as  good,  angels  and  bad 
spirits,  will  pass  over  into  a  certain  essence,  transcending  representa- 
tion, and  that  this  essence  is  God,  in  its  nature  blessed,  but  without 
knowledge  or  will.  Since  the  beginning  of  time,  there  has  never  been 
invented  a  more  senseless  or  perverse  opinion  than  this.  And  yet 
many  suifer  themselves  to  be  deceived  by  it,  even  of  such  as  seem  to 
be  spiritually  minded,  when  in  fact  they  are  worse  than  the  demons 
themselves.  For  what  they  affirm  is  contradicted  by  pagans  and  by 
Jews,  by  nature,  law,  reason,  all  that  Scripture  teaches  concern- 
ing good  and  bad  angels."  Ruysbroch  next  proceeds  to  distinguish 
between  the  ideal  and  the  real  being  of  rational  creatures.  "  The 
life  —  says  he  —  that  we,  in  the  divine  idea,  have  in  God,  is  one  with 
himself,  and  in  its  own  nature  a  blessed  one.  But  besides  this,  we 
have  another  in  common  with  the  angels  ;  a  life  created  by  God  from 
nothing  ;  one  which  will  always  endure  ;  and  such  an  one  cannot  be  a 
blessed  one  in  its  own  nature  ;  but  it  can  become  a  blessed  one  by 
God's  grace,  if  we  attain  to  grace  ;  that  is,  to  faith,  hope,  knowledge, 
and  love.  If  we  attain  to  these,  we  practise  those  virtues  which  are 
pleasing  to  God,  and  thus  rise  above  ourselves,  and  become  united  with 
God ;  yet  a  creature  never  becomes  God."  "  We  may  meet  with  many 
—  says  he  in  another  place 3  —  who  imagine  they  have  experienced 
within  themselves  a  certain  true  life,  above  all  practice  of  virtue  ;  and 
that  they  have  combined  a  created  and  uncreated  life,  God  and  the 
creature  at  once  ;  with  regard  to  all  which  we  should  know  that  we 
have  a  certain  eternal  life  in  the  original  type  of  the  divine  wisdom. 
And  this  life  ever  abides  in  the  Father,  and  proceeds  forth  from  Him 
with  the  Son,  and  flows  back  into  the  same  essence  with  the  Holy 

1  This  translation  does  not  correspond,        2  Speculum  aeternae   salutis.      Opp.  p. 
it  is  true,  to  the  Latin  words:   Ac  si  ego    27  (ed.  1609,  pag.  50). 
album  vocarem  nigrum;  but  I  conjecture        3  Ibid.  pag.  29. 
from   the   sense   that   it   should   properly 
read :   album  vocarem  aut  nigrum. 


FRIENDS   OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.  897 

Spirit ;  and  thus  we  live  in  an  eternal  manner  in  the  original  type  of 
the  holy  trinity  and  of  the  unity  of  the  Father."  But  from  this  he 
distinguishes  the  created  life,  "  which  springs  from  the  same  wisdom 
in  which  God  knows  his  power,  wisdom  and  goodness  ;  and  this  is  the 
image  or  copy  of  the  former,  by  which  the  former  lives  in  us.  By 
virtue  of  this  image  of  the  former,  our  life  has  three  properties,  where- 
by we  resemble  that  original  type.  For  our  essence  ever  contemplates 
the  original  of  our  uncreated  essence,  lives  in  it,  and  feels  drawn  to- 
wards it,  where  we  live  from  God,  live  to  God,  live  in  God,  and  God 
in  us.  This,  then,  he  regards  as  the  hidden,  primordial  ground  of 
creaturely  spirits,  whereby  they  are  united  in  connection  with  that 
architypal  being  to  God.  "  This  —  he  says  —  is  the  true  ground  of 
life,  and  is  in  us  all,  as  to  essence,  by  virtue  of  mere  nature.  For  it 
is  exalted  above  hope,  faith,  grace,  and  all  exercises  of  virtue,  and 
therefore  its  being,  life,  and  action  are  one.  But  this  life  is  hidden  in 
God  and  in  the  essence  of  our  souls.  And  because  this  dwells  in  us 
all  by  nature,  so,  many  may,  in  a  certain  way,  even  without  grace  or 
faith,  and  without  any  exercise  of  virtue  whatever,  come  to  some 
knowledge  of  it  by  natural  reason."  Accordingly,  he  now  proceeds 
to  trace  the  misconceptions  of  those  pantheists  to  their  one-sided  mode 
of  apprehending  that  hidden  primordial  ground  separate  from  the 
supernatural  light  of  grace.  "  There  are  —  says  he  —  men  given  to 
idle  reverie,  with  introverted  eyes,  turned  away  from  sensible  images 
to  their  own  simple  essence ;  and  when  so  turned  they  deem  them- 
selves blessed,  holy  ;  some  even  look  upon  themselves  as  very  God. 
And  they  care  about  nothing,  be  it  good  or  evil,  \l  they  can  but  rid 
themselves  of  forms  and  images,  and  find  and  possess  themselves  in 
the  pure  repose  of  their  essence."  So  after  speaking  of  the  above 
distinction  between  the  ideal  and  the  real  being  of  the  creaturely 
spirit,  he  says : 1  "  And  yet  we  are  not  the  wisdom  of  God  ;  for  then 
we  should  have  created  ourselves,  which  is  impossible ;  and  to  be- 
lieve this,  is  godless  and  heretical.  For  all  that  we  are  and  have,  we 
have  from  God  and  not  from  ourselves."  Again,  he  says  :  2  "In 
communion  with  God  we  are  one  spirit  and  one  life  with  him  ;  but  still 
we  continue  to  be  creatures.  For  though  we  have  been  transfigured 
by  his  light,  and  absorbed  by  his  love,  yet  we  still  know  and  feel  that 
we  are  something  other  than  and  different  from  Him.  Hence  it  ia 
that  we  feel  ourselves  constrained  ever  to  look  up  to  him  and  to  strive 
towards  him  ;  and  this  act  will  abide  eternally  with  us.  For  never 
will  it  be  in  our  power  to  lose  our  created  essence  and  so  purely  to 
pass  out  from  it  that  we  shall  not  still,  and  through  all  eternity,  con- 
tinue to  be  something  different  from  God.  For  though  the  Son  of 
God  partook  of  our  nature,  yet  he  by  no  means  made  us  God."  How 
personal  consciousness  still  continues  even  at  the  highest  point 
reached  by  contemplation,  in  soaring  upward  to  God,  he  shows  thus  :3 
"  Though  we  may  rise  above  reason,  still  we  are  not  without  rea- 
son ;  hence  we  feel  that  we  touch  and  are  touched ;   love  and  are 

1  Ibid.  p.  31.  s  Ibid.  3  Ibid. 

vol.  v.  34 


398  HISTORf   OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

beloved ;  we  are  continually  renewed,  and  return  back  into  our- 
selves ;  we  go  and  return,  like  lightning.  For  by  love  we  contend 
and  brace  ourselves,  as  if  stemming  a  torrent,  because  we  have  not 
power  to  press  through  and  pass  beyond  the  creaturely  essence." 
"  Although  —  says  he  in  another  place1  — love  absorbs  the  soul,  con- 
sumes it,  and  even  demands  of  it  what  is  impossible,  and  although  the 
soul  longs  to  resolve  itself  into  love  as  into  nothing,  yet  it  can  never 
perish  but  will  always  endure.  I  would,  however — says  he2  —  call  to 
the  reader's  recollection  that,  where  it  was  asserted  by  me  that  we  are 
one  with  God,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  we  are  one  with  him  in  love, 
not  in  nature  and  essence.  For  God's  essence  is  uncreated,  but  ours 
is  created  ;  which  makes  an  infinite  difference.  Hence,  we  may  in- 
deed be  united  one  with  the  other,  but  never  become  one.  And  if  our 
own  essence  were  annihilated,  we  could  neither  know,  nor  love,  nor  be 
blessed."  And  again,  in  the  remarkable  passage  3  where  he  ascribes 
the  fall  of  the  angels  to  their  falling  in  love  with  their  own  nature,  and 
thinking  they  did  not  need  the  supernatural  gifts  of  God,  he  adds  : 
"  And  yet  still  worse  than  all  evil  spirits  are  those  hypocritical  men 
who  despise  God,  and  his  gifts,  and  Holy  Church  and  all  her  sacra- 
ments, and  Holy  Scripture,  and  all  exercises  of  virtue,  and  say  they 
lead  a  life  exalted  above  every  other  kind,  something  quite  transcend- 
ent, and  that  they  have  sunk  themselves  into  the  same  repose  as  they 
had  before  they  were  created,  and  that  they  have  no  knowledge,  no 
love,  no  will,  no  craving,  no  exercises  of  virtue,  but  are  rid  of  them 
all.  And  because  they  would  sin,  and  commit  foul  crimes  without 
compunction  of  conscience,  they  say  besides,  that  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment good  and  evil  spirits,  godless  and  pious  men  will  all  be  trans- 
formed together  into  the  simple  essence  of  God ;  and  then  all  would  in 
this  enjoy  an  essential  blessedness,  without  knowledge  or  love  of  God  ; 
and  then  God  would  neither  know  nor  love  himself  nor  any  creature." 
Furthermore,  we  should  here  give  prominent  place  to  that  profoundly 
thoughtful,  truthful  description  of  a  one-sided  intellectualized  mysticism, 
divorced  of  all  vitality  of  feeling,  where  he  says  :  *  "  The  most  danger- 
ous temptation  besets  those  who,  without  exercise  of  the  virtues,  find 
within  themselves,  by  imageless,  naked  intelligence,  the  essential  being 
of  their  souls,  and  possess  the  same  in  a  certain  naked  repose  of  their 
spirit  and  their  nature.  These  sink  into  a  certain  empty  and  blind  re- 
pose of  their  essence  ;  they  do  not  concern  themselves  in  the  least 
about  performing  good  works  and  exercises,  external  or  internal ;  and 
all  internal  acts,  as  willing,  knowing,  loving,  longing,  and  all  active 
tendency  to  God  they  despise  and  spurn.  If  these  had  but  striven 
for  one  short  hour  of  their  life,  with  pure  love  and  a  holy  dispo- 
sition after  God,  and  had  a  taste  of  the  true  virtues,  they  could  never 
have  fallen  into  this  blindness  and  into  this  unbelief.  Assuredly,  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Christ  himself,  all  classes  of  the  blessed  spirits,  and 

1  Ibid.  pag.  34.  *  De  quatuor  subtilib.  tentationib..  pag. 

*  Ibid.  196  (ed.  1609.  pag.  360). 

3  Ibid.  pag.  27. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.  399 

holy  men,  will,  through  all  eternity,  act,  love,  long,  thank,  praise,  have 
will  and  consciousness  ;  nor  can  they,  without  these  acts,  be  blessed. 
God  himself,  if  he  did  not  act,  would  not  be  God,  and  could  not  be 
blessed.  Grievously  therefore  do  they  err,  these  poor  men,  who  are 
to  be  mourned  over  with  many  tears,  who  slumber  and  sink  down  in 

this  mistaken  repose  of  their  souls Hence  comes  a  perverted 

freedom.  They  are  simple  people,  without  all  practice  of  the  virtues, 
and  who  remain  at  a  very  far  remove  from  any  true  mortification  of 
their  nature.  Or  if  they  have  sought  long  and  much  to  exercise 
themselves  in  great  penitence,  still  they  have  done  it  without  love  and 
without  a  pure  disposition  towards  God."  Perhaps  we  may  infer  from 
these  last  words,  that  many  who  had  taken  great  pains  in  the  practice 
of  self-mortification,  afterwards  fell  away  into  this  mystic  bent  of 
apathy.  "  It  is  the  manner  of  this  people  —  says  he  —  to  sit  quiet 
in  one  spot,  with  no  sort  of  occupation,  retiring  into  themselves  with 
an  idle  sensuousness,  stript  bare  of  all  images.  And  because  they  are 
without  the  practice  of  the  virtues,  and  without  love  through  union 
with  God,  hence  they  do  not  penetrate  into  themselves,  but  reposing 
in  their  own  essence,  convert  this  into  their  god  or  idol.  Meanwhile, 
they  fancy  themselves  one  with  God."  "  Thus  we  are  —  says  he 
in  another  place1  —  without  any  mediation,  in  a  way  exalted  above 
all  the  virtues,  united  with  God,  where,  in  the  highest  point  of  our  cre- 
ated essence,  we  bear  his  image  within  us  ;  still,  we  ever  continue  to 
be  like  him,  and  united  with  him  in  ourselves,  through  his  grace  and 
by  our  virtuous  life."  He  says2  —  "  We  may  find  a  certain  race  of 
hypocrites.  They  would  be  regarded  as  persons  standing  in  a  passive 
relation  to  God ;  they  would  be  inactive,  and  merely  certain  instru- 
ments of  God.  They  affirm,  therefore,  that  they  stand  only  in  a 
passive  relation,  without  any  action  of  their  own  ;  and  those  works 
which  God  produces  in  them  as  his  blind  instruments,  are  more  excel- 
lent and  possessed  of  greater  merit  than  the  works  of  other  men. 
They  affirm  that  they  are  incapable  of  committing  sin,  because  God 
alone  works  all  things  in  them,  and  only  what  God  wills  and  nothing 
else  is  done  by  them.  They  imagine  that  every  thing  to  which  they 
feel  inwardly  impelled,  whether  it  be  in  agreement  with  virtue  or  op- 
posed to  it,  proceeds  from  the  motions  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  From 
this  class  Ruysbroch  distinguishes  another  as  a  still  worse  one,  who 
pushed  this  pantheistic  quietism  to  such  an  extreme  as  to  believe 
themselves  not  only  raised  by  it  above  all  religious  rites,  all  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  church,  all  obedience  to  the  church,  in  their  own  im- 
agined perfection,  their  denudation  from  all  creaturely  properties  and 
their  absorption  into  God,  but  also  empowered  by  it  to  annul  all  dis- 
tinctions of  right  and  wrong,  and  justify  every  species  of  irregularity, 
provided  no  disturbance  were  offered  to  the  repose  of  the  spirit.  We 
are  reminded  by  all  this  of  similar  phenomena,  which  have  occurred 
among  many  Gnostic  sects  and  in  ancient  India.     He  tells  us  first  in 

1  Lib.   de  septem   amoris  gradib.,  pag.        z  De  ornatu  spirital.  nuptiar.,  pag.  275. 
224. 


400  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

what  respects  they  agreed  with  those  before  mentioned :  "  They  sit  still 
and  idle,  without  any  exertion  of  virtue  or  good  works  ;  and  this  to 
such  extent  as  that  they  will  neither  praise  God,  nor  thank  him  ;  nor 
know,  will,  or  love  him,  nor  pray  to  him  or  long  after  him.  They  im- 
agine that  they  already  possess  everything  which  they  could  pray  for ; 
and  that  they  are  already  poor  in  spirit,  as  they  are  without  will  of 
their  own,  and  have  renounced  everything,  and  live  without  any 
choice  or  purpose  of  their  own.  They  imagine  they  are  rid  of  every- 
thing and  superior  to  everything.  They  have  already  attained  to  all 
for  which  the  various  institutions  and  rites  of  the  church  have  been 
founded.  As  they  themselves  pretend,  no  being,  not  even  God,  can 
give  anything  to  them,  or  take  aught  from  them.  For  according  to 
their  own  judgment  they  are  beyond  all  exercises,  all  rites  of  worship, 
and  all  the  virtues,  and  have  attained  to  a  certain  pure  repose,  where 
they  are  free  from  all  the  virtues.  And  they  say,  that  to  be  thus  free  in 
repose  from  the  virtues,  requires  greater  pains  and  exertions  than 
to  attain  to  the  virtues  themselves.  For  this  reason  they  would  enjoy 
freedom,  obey  nobody,  neither  pope,  nor  bishops,  nor  prelates.  And 
though  they  put  on  outwardly  the  mask  of  a  certain  obedience,  yet 
inwardly  they  are  subject  to  no  one,  neither  in  will  nor  in  action.  For 
from  all  which  Holy  Church  does  and  observes,  from  all  this  they  hold 
themselves  exempted,  and  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  And  this 
is  their  opinion  —  so  long  as  a  man  takes  pains  to  acquire  virtues,  and 
seeks  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God,  he  is  not  perfect ;  since  he  is  still  seek- 
ing to  acquire  virtues,  and  has  learnt  nothing  as  yet  of  this  his 
spiritual  poverty.  And  they  consider  themselves  exalted  above  all 
the  orders  of  the  world  of  spirits  and  all  the  hosts  of  the  saints, 
and  every  reward  which  could  possibly  be  merited  ;  and,  therefore, 
they  suppose  that  they  can  merit  nothing  more,  they  can  make  no 
farther  progress  in  virtue,  nor  commit  any  more  sins,  since  they  are 
without  will  of  their  own,  and  have  surrendered  their  spirits  to  God  in 
repose,  and  hence  have  so  become  one  with  God  as  to  be  altogether 
nothing  in  themselves.  Therefore,  they  affirm,  every  thing  is  allowa- 
ble to  them  which  their  bodies  may  lust  after,  since  reduced  back  to 
the  state  of  innocence  they  have  no  law  prescribed  to  them.  There- 
fore, Avhen  their  corporeal  nature  lusts  after  anything,  whatever  it  may 
be,  and  they  feel  that  the  tranquillity  of  their  spirits  is  disturbed  by 
the  non-gratification  of  this  desire  they  give  up  to  their  nature. 
Therefore  they  give  themselves  no  concern  about  observing  fasts  or 
festivals,  except  when,  for  men's  sake,  they  do  otherwise.  For  in  all 
things  they  live  without  conscience,  holding  that  there  is  nothing  which 
is  not  permitted  them."  "I  hope  —  says  he  —  that  we  shall  find  but 
few  of  this  sort  of  men ;  but  they,  whoever  they  are,  that  belong  to 
their  number,  are  the  worst  of  men ;  and  seldom,  if  ever,  do  they 
come  to  their  senses  ;  in  the  mean  time,  evil  spirits  get  possession  of 
them."  He  says,  that  they  were  hard  to  be  reached  by  arguments. 
And  Tauler,  after  pointing  out  how  the  contemplative  life  should  pass 
over  into  the  active  —  both  being  in  essence  one  —  contends  against 
these  advocates  of  a  one-sided,  contemplative  bent.      "  There  are, 


FRIENDS   OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.      RUYSBROCH.  401 

a^ain  —  says  he  1  —  certain  men  who  set  value  only  on  contemplation, 
and  set  no  value  on  reality,  and  say  that  they  need  not  exercise,  need 
not  virtue  ;  they  have  passed  beyond  it."  And  he  holds  up  to 
such  the  words  of  Christ  respecting  the  seed  cast  into  good  ground, 
which  brought  forth  a  hundred  fold  ;  and  Matth.  3:10. 

Having  thus  explained  this  general  opposition  of  the  ground-tend- 
encies of  the  so-called  Friends  of  God,  we  will  proceed  to  enter  more 
at  large  into  the  characteristics  of  the  above-mentioned  representa- 
tives of  the  more  pure  and  sober  bent.  The  first  to  be  noticed  here 
is  John  Ruysbroch  of  Brussels,  who  being,  as  we  have  seen  from  his 
writings,  a  zealous  opponent  of  that  fanatical,  pantheistic  bent,  had 
already,  before  retiring  from  the  world,  great  trials  to  endure  from  the 
opposition  of  a  wife  belonging  to  the  sect  of  the  free  spirit.  She  was 
one  of  those  who  labored  to  disseminate  their  doctrines  by  the  circula- 
tion of  mystic  writings  in  the  vulgar  language,  and  had  formed  around 
her  a  large  party,  whose  hatred  Ruysbroch  incurred  by  the  zeal  with 
which  he  contended  against  this  fanatical  bent,  so  connected  with  sen- 
sual extravagancies.  Ruysbroch  was  much  sought  after  by  many  be- 
longing to  districts  on  the  Rhine,  Strasburg,  Basel,  and  France,  and 
consulted  for  spiritual  advice. 

The  writings  of  Ruysbroch  evince  —  and  the  same  thing  is  apparent 
also  from  the  story  of  his  life  —  that  his  contemplative  habits  did  not 
hinder  him  from  coming  frequently  into  contact  with  his  contempo- 
raries. We  find,  therefore,  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  profound 
knowledge  of  the  religious  condition  of  his  contemporaries ;  he  under- 
stood the  dangers  that  threatened  to  come  in  from  this  source,  and 
sought  to  guard  against  them.  Though  the  externalization  of  the  re- 
ligious element  and  superstition  were,  in  this  period,  the  chief  disturb- 
ers of  the  religious  spirit,  yet  Ruysbroch  knew  how  to  detect  the 
infidelity,  also,  that  went  along  with  them.  This  was,  indeed,  at  first, 
wrapt  up  and  concealed  under  the  extravagances  of  that  mysticism, 
that  false  inwardness  and  passivity,  which  Ruysbroch,  as  we  have 
seen,  so  vigorously  contended  against ;  but  we  find  hints  in  his  wri- 
tings, that,  independent  of  this,  the  prevailing  worldliness  of  spirit 
that  cramped  every  movement  of  the  higher  life,  had  called  forth  a 
decided  infidelity,  which  may  have  been  but  confirmed  the  more  by 
the  antagonism  of  the  prevailing  superstition.  We  know  not  but  we 
should  be  thinking  of  some  such  root,  rather  than  the  aberrations  of 
mysticism,  when  Ruysbroch,  contending  against  such  as  denied  every 
tiling  supernatural,  says  : 2  "  They  who  lie  without  shame  under  mor- 
tal sins,  care  neither  about  God  nor  his  grace,  but  esteem  the  virtues 
as  nothing,  spiritual  life  as  hypocrisy  or  deception,  and  listen  with  dis- 
gust to  all  that  is  said  about  God  or  the  virtues ;  convinced  that  there 
is  no  God,  and  no  heaven  or  hell.  Hence  it  is  that  they  want  to  know 
about  nothing  but  what  strikes  the  senses :  "  and  when  he  speaks  of 
those  bad  Christians,3  who  blaspheme  Christ,  and  set  at  naught  his-  sa- 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  15  b;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  123.  3  Specul.  aetcrn.  salut.  pag.  27. 

*  I)e  calculo.  pag.  283. 

34* 


402  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

craments.  We  meet  with  expressions  in  his  writings  which,  rent  from 
their  connection  with  his  general  drift  and  scope,  separated  from  those 
passages  where,  as  we  have  seen,  he  so  emphatically  contends  against 
pantheism,  might  be  misconstrued  as  an  inclination  to  that  error ;  as 
where  he  says : l  "  God  dwells  after  the  like  true  manner,  as  to  his  es- 
sence, in  the  wicked  and  the  good,  for  he  is  the  creator  and  preserver 
of  all  beings,  and  nearer  and  more  within  them  than  they  are  to  them- 
selves ;  he  is  the  essence  of  their  essence."  So  when  he  describes  it 
as  the  highest  position  to  be  reached  in  time  or  eternity ;  "  when  we 
have  the  feeling  and  inward  consciousness  beyond  all  knowledge  and  sci- 
ence, and  of  a  certain  infinite,  fathomless  unknown  ;  when  we  are  dead 
to,  and  rise  above  all  the  names  which  we  give  to  God  or  to  creatures, 
or  pass  beyond  them  into  something  eternal,  transcendent,  which  is 
incapable  of  being  designated  by  any  name,  and  lose  ourselves  there- 
in ;  and  when  above  all  the  exercises  of  virtue  in  us,  we  perceive  and 
experience  a  certain  eternal  repose,  wherein  there  is  no  activity  ;  and 
above  all  blessed  spirits,  an  infinite  and  immeasurable  bliss,  in  which 
we  are  all  one,  and  this  unity  itself,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  the  crea- 
ture, is  the  same  that  blessedness  is  in  itself;  and  when,  finally,  we 
see  all  blessed  spirits  merged,  blended,  and  lost  in  that  essence  which 
is  higher  than  all  substance."  2  But  what  preserved  Ruysbroch,  who, 
as  we  may  see  from  the  language  above  cited,  in  striving  to  pass  be- 
yond the  limits  of  temporal  consciousness  and  to  anticipate  the  intu- 
itions of  the  life  eternal,  might  so  easily  have  lost  himself  in  those 
abysses,  what  preserved  such  a  man  from  the  pantheistic  error,  was 
the  power  of  the  moral  element  within  him,  it  \yas  that  which  Christ 
was  to  him,  the  connection  of  his  christian  consciousness  with  his  con- 
sciousness of  God,  his  way  of  knowing  God  in  Christ,  his  way  of 
clinging  to  God  revealed  and  to  his  word,  and  his  profound  recognition 
of  this  essence  of  personality ;  his  way  of  connecting  his  faith  in  a 
personal  supra-mundane  God  with  the  consciousness  of  his  own  per- 
sonality. The  characteristic  thing  in  that  mystic  pantheism  is  in  fact 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  will,  exalting  itself  above  Christ,  and  the 
want  of  a  strong  moral  sense.  We  may  notice,  therefore,  what  Ruys- 
broch says  on  this  point : 3  "  We  cannot  redeem  ourselves  ;  but  if  with 
all  the  capabilities  we  have  we  follow  after  Christ,  then  our  acts  are 
united  with  his  acts,  and  become  enobled  by  his  grace.  Therefore  has 
Christ  redeemed  us  by  his  own  acts  and  not  by  ours,  and  by  his  own 
merits  has  he  made  us  free.  But  if  we  would  possess  and  feel  this 
freedom,  then  must  his  spirit  kindle  our  spirits  to  love,  and  plunge  us 
in  the  abyss  of  his  love  and  most  free  goodness,  where  our  spirits  are 
baptized  and  endued  with  freedom,  and  united  with  his  spirit,  and  that 
which  constitutes  our  will  dies  to  itself,  and  is  absorbed  in  his  will,  so 
that  we  would  will  nothing  but  what  God  wills  ;  for  God's  will  has  be- 
come our  will — which  is  the  root  of  true  love.  Accordingly,  he 
says  :  *  "  Christ  is  our  mirror  and  our  rule,  the  rule  for  the  right  di- 

1  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut,  p.  179.  3  Specul.  aetern.  salut,  pag.  14. 

*  De  sept,  amor  grad.,  pag.  226.  *  Ibid.  pag.  32. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN    GERMANY.      RUYSBROCH.  403 

rection  of  our  whole  life.  His  humanity  is  the  light  of  the  divine 
glory  whereby  heaven  and  earth  are  enlightened,  and  will  be  to  all 
eternity."  "  Though  God  —  says  he '  — has  withdrawn  and  hidden  him- 
self from  thy  view,  yet  thou  art  by  no  means  hidden  from  him.  For  he 
lives  in  thee  and  has  left  thee  his  mirror  and  his  image,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Son,  that  thou  mightest  carry  him  in  thy  hands,  before 

thine  eyes  and  in  thy  heart The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  Jesus 

Christ  himself,  who  by  his  grace  lives  in  us ;  and  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  suffereth  violence,  and,  by  the  power  of  Christ  who  lives  in  us 
and  fights  with  us,  we  take  it  by  force."2  He  understands  how  to 
seize  the  divine  nature  and  the  human  nature  of  Christ  in  their  intimate 
connection.  "  Because  — says  he  3  —  Christ  was  in  respect  of  that  which 
is  highest  in  him  ever  of  the  same  will  with  the  Father,  though  his 
nature  was  sensible  to  sorrow  and  anguish,  yet  he  showed  obedience,  and 
having  overcome  the  will  of  the  sensuous  part,  he  said  to  the  Father, 
'  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done.'  "  We  have  already  observed  how 
Ruysbroch  contended  against  that  one-sided  contemplative  bent.  And 
though  he,4  too,  gave  great  prominence  to  the  contemplative  life  of  the 
spirit,  yet  he  ever  regarded  love  as  the  highest,  and  in  this  he  finds 
the  union  of  the  contemplative  and  the  practical  habit.  "  If  one  — 
says  he  —  should  soar  to  a  height  of  contemplation  equal  to  any  which 
Peter  or  Paul  or  any  other  of  the  apostles  ever  reached,  but  should  be 
informed  that  some  poor  man  stood  in  need  of  a  warm  broth,  or  of  any 
other  service,  it  would  be  far  better  that  he  should  for  the  moment 
awake  out  of  the  repose  of  that  contemplation  and  bestow  aid  on  that 
poor  man  in  true  charity,  than  that  he  should  surrender  himself  to  the 
sweetness  of  his  present  contemplation ;  for  God's  commandments  are 
not  to  be  neglected  for  the  sake  of  any  exercise,  however  great  it 
may  be.  Whoever  —  says  he  in  another  place5 —  would  give  himself 
up  solely  to  contemplation,  and  neglect  his  neighbor  in  distress,  has 
never  attained  to  true  intercourse  with  himself  and  the  contemplative 
life,  but  is  miserably  deceived  in  his  whole  mode  of  life.  And  against 
such  people  it  behooves  us  to  be  much  on  our  guard."  He  affirms 
that  for  the  sake  of  christian  perfection,  one  need  not  retire  into  soli- 
tude or  to  holy  places.  A  man  truly  just,  will  be  so  in  all  places  and 
with  all  men ;  and  the  same  holds  true  of  the  unjust. .  But  he  is  to  be 
called  a  just  man,  who,  after  a  true  manner,  perceives  God,  and  this 
in  all  places,  even  in  the  public  ways,  and  with  all  mortals  no  otherwise 
than  in  the  church,  or  in  his  chamber,  or  in  whatever  other  place  he 
may  have  shut  himself  up."  And  he  cites  in  illustration  the  words 
of  Christ  to  the  Samaritan  woman.  (John  4  :  21)  "  Men  —  says 
he6 — ought  not  to  look  so  much  at  what  they  do,  as  at  what  they  are. 
For  if  they  are  good  at  bottom,  their  deeds  will  easily  be  good  also. 
Many  place  holiness  in  action ;  but  this  is  not  best ;  since  holiness  is, 
if  I  may  so  express  it,  to  be  placed  in  being.     For  however  holy  our 

1  Ibid.  pag.  13.  *  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut,  pag.  181. 

2  Ibid.  pag.  15.  B  Specul.  aetern.  salut.,  pag.  25  et  26. 

3  J  bid.  pag.  14.  8  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut.  pag.  176. 


40-i  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY    AND    DOCTRINE. 

works  may  be,  they  do  not,  as  works,  make  us  holy  ;  but  so  far  as  we 
are  holy  ourselves,  and  our  foundation  is  a  holy  one,  so  far  we  make 
our  works,  also,  holy  ;  and  whether  it  be  eating  or  drinking,  sleeping, 
waking,  praying,  conversing,  or  fasting,  so  far  as  it  is  done  from 
greater  love  to  God  and  to  the  endless  glory  of  God,  so  far  is  it  also 
something  good.  For  the  greater  the  love  with  which  a  man  devotes 
himself  to  God,  the  holier  is  his  foundation."  i  Ruysbroch  was  op- 
posed also  to  the  externality  of  the  church  tendency  manifested  in 
penance  and  such  matters,  as  a  one-sided,  subjective  bent.  He  says :  2 
"  Though  many  frequent  the  choir,  day  and  night,  read  a  great  deal, 
sing,  multiply  words  in  prayer,  and  perform  the  like  good  works,  yet 
these  are  valueless  both  to  themselves  and  before  God  ;  because,  with 
thoughts  dissipated  on  outward  objects,  they  '  walk  after  the  flesh  and 
not  after  the  spirit."  "  Outward  poverty  —  says  he  3  —  separated  from 
the  internal  exercises  and  virtues,  cannot  find  this  way  to  God.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  one  makes  a  wise  and  conscientious  use  of  ricjies,  if 
for  the  glory  of  God  he  liberally  distributes  them  to  the  poor,  he  may 
find  this  way,  which  remains  an  unknown  one  to  hypocrites  who  are 
poor  against  their  will."  "  We  may  meet  with  many  who  lead  a  strict  and 
austere  life,  and  give  themselves  up  to  astonishing  acts  of  penance,  but 
their  only  end  is  to  gain  a  great  reputation  for  sanctity  and  a  great 
reward.  For  natural  love  turns  back  upon  itself,  and  longs  after  honor 
in  this  life,  and  a  large  reward  in  the  next."  *  Again  —  he  says  5 
—  "  he  who  busies  himself  more  with  those  exercises  which  take  up 
the  whole  heart  and  soul,  and  bestows  more  attention  on  the  multi- 
plicity of  works,  than  on  their  essence  and  end,  and  clings  to  his  ex- 
ercises, to  sacraments,  symbols,  and  outward  usages,  more  than  to  the 
truth  signified  by  them,  he  continues  to  be  an  outward  man,  swallowed 
up  in  mere  doing ;  but  the  same  man  in  his  good  works,  if  they  are 
united  with  a  simple  temper,  will  obtain  eternal  life."  "  Every  good 
work  —  says  he  6 — however  trifling,  if  done  with  love  and  a  simple  dis- 
position, out  of  respect  to  God,  obtains  likeness  to  God  and  eternal 
life  in  him  ;  for  a  simple  disposition  brings  the  scattered  powers  of 
the  soul  into  unity,  and  places  the  spirit  itself  in  union  with  God." 
One  thing  characterizing  the  ethical  element  in  Ruysbroch,  which  se- 
cured him  against  the  danger  of  pantheism,  is  the  prominent  place  he 
gives  to  the  will,  which  he  describes  as  the  main-spring,  on  which  all 
development  of  the  higher  life  depends.  "  All  virtue,  and  all  good- 
ness—  says  he7  —  depend  on  the  will.  He, therefore,  wants  nothing, 
who  truly  possesses  a  right  will.  If,  then,  thou  longest  to  have  hu- 
mility, love,  or  any  other  of  the  virtues,  thou  hast  but  to  will  it  in  all 
seriousness  and  with  thy  whole  soul,  and  of  a  certainty  thou  hast  it, 
and  none  can  deprive  thee  of  it,  be  he  God  or  man,  if  but  thy  will  be 
right  and  godlike."  And  in  another  place,8  he  says  what  could  hardly 
be  acceptable   to  the  advocates  of  the  common  view  held   by  the 

1  Ibid.  pag.  173  5  Ibid.  pag.  267. 

8  De  quat.  subtil,  tentation.  pag.  195.  6  Ibid.  pag.  266  (ed.  1609  pag.  486). 

3  De  sept.  amor,  grad.,  pag.  220.  7  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut.,  pag.  180. 

*  De  ornatu  spiritual,  nuptiar,  pag.  274.  "  Ibid.  pag.  181. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN    GERMANY.  405 

church  :  "  If  one  should  maintain  that  a  perfect  will,  without  works, 
is  worth  as  much  as  a  good  will,  with  works,  at  the  same  time,  I  should 
not  be  disposed  strenuously  to  dispute  such  an  opinion."  A  good  will 
is  born  of  the  Holy  Spirit  itself;  and,  therefore,  a  good  will  is  the 
living  and  free  instrument  whereby  God  accomplishes  what  he  wills.  A 
good  will  in  man  is  the  love  shed  abroad  in  him,  through  which  he 
honors  God,  and  cherishes  and  exercises  all  the  virtues.  Our  good 
will  is  God's  grace,  and  our  supernatural  life  whereby  we  get  the  vic- 
tory over  all  sins.  A  good  will,  united  with  the  divine  grace,  makes  U3 
free,  lifts  us  above  ourselves,  and  unites  us  with  God  in  the  contempla- 
tive life.  A  good  will,  in  its  internal  communion  with  God,  is  the 
spirit  crowned  with  the  eternal  life  ;  and  when  it  is  directed  outwards, 
it  is  lord  of  all  external  actions  ;  and  the  same  is'  accordingly  the 
kingdom  of  God,  where  God  reigns  by  his  grace.  It  includes  love, 
and,  lifted  above  itself,  is  blessed,  united  with  God."  i  Much  spiritual  ex- 
perience and  sober  sense,  are  evinced  in  what  Ruysbroch  says,  in 
reproving  that  tendency  to  self-reflection  and  tacit  repose  in  the  feel- 
ings, whereby  many  in  these  times  were  led  astray — a  tendency 
noticed  by  chancellor  Gerson,  who,  describing  the  dangers  of  the  inner 
life  of  the  soul,  in  his  times,  says  : 2  "  The  excessive  hunting  after  and 
brooding  over  feelings  has  deceived  many."  Now,  when,  for  various 
reasons,  such  persons  came  to  find  the  current  of  their  religious  feelings 
dried  up,  and  to  experience  a  dearth  in  their  inner  life,  they  were  easily 
led  to  think  themselves  forsaken  of  God,  and  fell  into  despondency.  He 
says  many  things  on  this  subject  having  an  important  bearing  on  the 
religious  life  of  his  contemporaries.  He  speaks  of  people,  "  Who 
strove  after  many  special  favors,  had  their  particular  prayers,  and 
requested  this  and  that  thing  of  God.  Hence,  they  were  often 
deceived.  God  permitted  the  things  they  desired  to  be  given  them 
by  evil  spirits ;  while  they,  however,  ascribed  the  answer  to  their 
own  holiness,  and  believed  they  deserved  it  all.  Nor  should  we 
wonder  at  this,  since  they  suffer  under  the  distemper  of  pride,  and 
are  neither  touched  nor  enlightened  by  God.  They  cling  therefore  to 
themselves  ;  a  trifling  comfort  rejoices  them  beyond  measure,  because 
they  are  not  aware  of  their  great  deficiencies.  They  are  bent  on  seek- 
ing after  spiritual  enjoyments,  which  may  well  be  called  a  spiritual  de- 
bauch, because  it  is  an  inordinate  desire  of  natural  love,  which  always 
has  prime  regard  to  itself,  and  seeks  its  own  advantage."  3  "  The  ef- 
fects of  love  often  seem  of  great  importance,  as  triumphant  joy,  de- 
votion, and  the  like  ;  but  these  are  not  always  the  more  desirable  and 
better  states  of  feeling,  for  they  may  exist  without  true  love.  Nature 
is  often  wont  to  bestow  such  sweetness  of  temper,  or  by  God's  per- 
mission, even  the  spirit  of  all  evil  may  excite  such  feelings  in  a  man. 
Nor  is  he  to  be  called  a  more  holy  man  than  others,  who  abounds  in 
such  feelings.  Hence,  it  is  our  duty  to  inquire  whether  such  feelings 
have  been  bestowed  by  God,  and  for  what  purpose.    For  such  feelings, 

1  Specul.  aetern.  saint.,  pag.  29.  3  De  oraatu  spiritual,  nuptiar.,  pag.  274. 

-  Fefl'llit  multos  nimia  sensimentorum 
ctmquisitio. 


406  HISTORY   OF   THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

God,  in  his  love,  is  often  wont  to  bestow,  for  the  purpose  of  stimulating 
the  soul  to  aim  at  something  higher  and  of  keeping  it  in  the  right  direc- 
tion of  life.  But  as  he,  on  whom  they  are  bestowed,  makes  progress  in 
true  love,  he  gradually  pays  less  regard  to  such  sweetness  of  the  feel- 
ings. While  he  maintains  his  fidelity,  however,  in  such  times  of  re- 
freshment, the  Christian  should  still  be  watchful,  and  consider  whether 
it  flows  from  true  love ;  and  even  if  it  be  clear  that  such  is  the  case, 
yet  it  is  not  for  this  reason  the  best  thing,  as  will  be  evident  if  we  re- 
flect that  such  enjoyments  must  ever  be  regarded  as  of  far  less  value 
than  any  service,  bodily  or  spiritual,  which  we  can  bestow  on  an- 
other." ]  In  respect  to  the  consciousness  of  spiritual  dearth,  he 
says :  2  "If  thou  sometimes  feelest  within  thee  a  certain  stubborn- 
ness of  nature,  a  troubled  heart  and  an  oppressive  burden  ;  if  thou 
feelest  thyself  deprived  of  all  taste  for  spiritual  things ;  if  thou  ap- 
pearest  to  thyself  deserted  of  God,  poor,  and  destitute  of  all  comfort ; 
if  thou  supposest  thyself  suffering  under  a  disgust  of  all  external  and 
internal  exercises,  and  feelest  thyself  depressed  by  such  a  load,  as  if 
thou  must  sink  to  the  earth  ;  be  not  for  all  this  perplexed  in  thy  soul, 
but  leave  thyself  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  and  let  it  only  be  thy 
prayer  that  God's  will  may  be  done,  and  that  all  should  be  subservient 
to  his  glory.  Believe  me,  the  dark  cloud  will  soon  be  dissipated,  and 
the  radiance  of  the  beaming  sun  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  be 
poured  over  thee  with  a  more  excellent  comfort  and  a  more  excellent 
grace  than  thou  hast  ever  felt  before ;  and  this  on  account  of  thy  self- 
renunciation  and  thy  humble  resignation  under  all  the  load  laid  upon 
thee."  Accordingly,  he  looks  upon  all  such  sufferings  of  the  soul  as 
an  exercise  of  self-denial,  a  training  to  a  total  surrendry  of  the  heart 
to  God,  with  the  renunciation  of  self  and  of  all  creatures ;  and  for 
consolation  and  example  he  adverts  to  the  state  of  soul  in  Christ, 
when  he  uttered  those  words  on  the  cross,  '  My  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me,'  which  such  persons  doubtless  know  how  to  understand 
better  than  all  others.  "  In  order  —  says  he3 —  that  we  may  not  only 
bear  such  things  with  equanimity  from  men,  but  also  patiently  suffer 
the  rod  of  our  Lord  himself,  when  he  withdraws  the  comfort  of  his 
presence,  removing  so  far  from  us,  that  it  seems  as  if  a  wall  separated 
between  Him  and  us ;  and  if  we  come  in  our  distress  for  comfort  and 
help,  placing  himself  towards  us  as  if  he  shut  his  eyes  upon  us  and 
would  neither  see  nor  hear  us,  leaving  us  to  struggle  alone  with  our 
sufferings  and  sorrows  as  he  himself,  too,  was  forsaken  of  his  Father ; 
then,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  we  must  fly  to  his  deity  as  our  refuge, 
that  so,  remaining  unshaken  amid  all  our  depression,  we  may  seek  our 
consolation  in  no  mortal  creature  or  thing,  nor  anywhere  but  in  that 
word  which  Christ  himself  uttered,  l  Thy  will  be  done,'  which  words 
are  the  most  agreeable  of  all  to  God ;  and  he  who  can  express  this 
from  the  deep  meaning  of  his  heart,  can  never  be  disturbed  or  fall  into 
any  great  depression ;  but  he  will  experience  in  his  very  resignation  a 

1  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut..  pag.  181.       3  De  praecip.  quibusd.  virtut.,  pag   175. 

2  Specul.  aetern.  salut.,  pag.  13. 


FRIENDS    OF    GOD   IN   GERMANY.  407 

peculiar  peace,  because  God  is  the  end  of  the  self-denial."  In  regard 
to  tempting  thoughts,  he  says  :l  "If  in  thy  praying,  or  thy  spiritual 
exercises  strange  thoughts  or  images  enter  thy  mind,  whatever  they 
may  be,  if  they  be  not  to  the  purpose  before  thee,  be  not  disturbed  by 
them,  but  turn  away,  at  once,  with  the  whole  bent  of  thy  mind  and 
love,  to  God.  For  although  the  hellish  foe  shows  thee  thy  wares,  still 
they  will  not  stay  by  thee  if  thou  art  not  inclined  to  them  in  thy  af- 
fections. Therefore,  if  thou  wouldst  easily  overcome  all  things,  seek 
to  keep  thy  soul  ever  directed  upward  and  turned  inward." 

John  Tauler  was  born  in  Strasburg,  in  the  year  1290  ;  in  the  year 
1308  he  entered  the  Dominican  order.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
he  expresses  himself  somewhat  doubtful  whether  it  belongs  to  the  true 
following  after  Christ  to  live  by  the  alms  of  others  instead  of  laboring 
for  one's  self.  He  says  in  a  sermon  :2  "  Had  I  known,  when  I  was 
my  father's  son,  what  I  now  know,  I  would  have  lived  upon  his  labor 
and  not  upon  alms."  He  studied  at  Paris  ;  and  so  we  find  him  citing 
what  was  taught  in  the  schools.3  But,  as  is  evident  from  what  has 
been  earlier  said,  the  theology  that  is  not  to  be  learned  from  books  was 
esteemed  by  him  as  of  much  higher  value.  We  have  already  remarked 
how,  in  the  time  of  the  papal  interdict,  and  of  the  ravages  of  the  black 
death,  he  continued  fearlessly  to  labor  in  promoting  the  spiritual  good 
of  the  people.  He  preached  at  Cologne  and  in  the  different  cities  on 
the  Rhine,  and  died  in  the  year  1361.  Tauler,  as  well  as  Ruysbroch, 
contended  against  the  prevailing  tendency  to  the  external  in  religion. 
He  says  : 4  "  God  gave  all  things  that  they  might  be  a  way  to  him- 
self, and  He  only  should  be  the  end.  Do  you  dream  that  it  is  a  jest  ? 
Nay,  verily.  Your  station  makes  you  neither  blessed  nor  holy.  Neither 
my  cowl,  nor  my  bald  head,  nor  my  convent,  nor  my  holy  society,  nor 
any  of  these  things  makes  me  holy."  Accordingly  he  declaims  against 
the  various  self-mortifications  and  voluntarily  imposed  exercises  of  pen- 
ance, by  which  men  destroyed  their  minds  and  bodies  instead  of  mak- 
ing any  real  progress  in  sanctification.  Thus  he  says  :  "  Some  men 
are  not  content  with  the  myrrh  which  God  gives  them,  they  would  load 
their  stomachs  with  still  more,  and  give  themselves  the  head-ache  and 
sick  fancies,  and  have  suffered  long  and  much,  and  fail  to  do  things 
rightly,  and  little  grace  comes  to  them  from  it  all,  when  they  build  on 
their  own  plan,  whether  in  penance  or  abstinence,  or  in  prayer  or  devo- 
tion." 5  In  the  case  of  prayer,  he  makes  the  inward  disposition  the 
main  thing.  Praying  by  memory,  he  says,  is  profitable  only  so  far 
as  it  stirs  up  the  man  to  this  noble  (internal)  devotion  ;  and  then  the 
noble  incense  bursts  forth  ;  and  when  that  flows  out,  let  the  prayer  of 
the  lips  boldly  proceed."  6  He  says  again,  that  by  love,  the  supreme 
virtue,  all  vows  are  paid  ;  since  the  fulfilling  of  all  which  those  vows 
proposed  is  contained  in  love.  Now  if  a  man  has  made  many  vows, 
to  pray,  to  fast,  to  make  pilgrimages  and  the  like,  he  is  exempt  and 

1  Specul.  aetern.  salut,  pag.  12.  *  Sermons,  Bas.  ed.  fol.  146  a;  Fr.  ed. 

s  Bas.  ed.  fol.  120  b;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  419.      Ill,  p.  120. 

3  See  above,  page  384.  5  Bas.  ed.  fol.  8  a ;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  141. 

6  Bas.  ed.  fol.  8  b  ;  Fr.  ed. 


408  HISTORY    OF    THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

free  from  all  these,  when  he  enters  into  an  order  ;  as  soon  as  he  is 
in  the  order,  he  is  bound  to  all  the  virtues  and  to  God.  Rightly  there- 
fore do  I  also  say  here,  that  to  however  many  things  a  man  may 
have  bound  himself  to  God,  if  he  comes  into  real  true  love,  he  is  free 
from  them  all,  so  long  as  true  sincerity  of  heart  is  in  him."  l  Speaking 
of  those  who  would  be  righteous  by  outward  works,  he  says  :  "  They 
abide  in  this,  that  they  do  great  works,  such  as  fasting,  much  watching, 
and  praying  ;  yet  do  not  clearly  see  their  foundation.  They  find  their 
interest  and  themselves  in  sensual  enjoyment,  favor  and  disfavor.  And 
hence  are  engendered  unjust  and  incorrect  judgments  ;  and  then  manv 
failings  and  imperfections,  such  as  pride,  outward  or  inward,  bitterness 
or  self-will,  quarrelsomeness,  and  many  faults  of  the  like  kind."  2  He 
speaks  against  those  who  referred  morality  to  the  relations  of  this  world, 
excluding  the  higher  aspirations  after  that  which  is  above  the  world, 
the  craving  that  passes  beyond  things  earthly  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life. 
"  These  men  —  says  he  3  —  stray  away  into  the  rational  exercise  of  the 
virtues,  and  thus  find  such  pleasure  and  delight  in  this,  that  they  are 
kept  at  a  distance  from  the  truth  which  is  nearest  and  highest,  stop- 
ping short  at  the  present  pleasure,  instead  of  seeking  after  the  eternal 
God  through  all  pleasure."  He  reprimands  those  who  placed  their  de- 
pendence on  saints  or  angels,  instead  of  reposing  their  whole  trust  in 
God.  He  says :  *  "  There  are  some  spiritual  men,  who  are  not  content 
to  be  without  comfort.  For  rather  than  to  be  simply  and  truly  without 
comfort,  and  found  empty  and  naked,  they  would  resort  to  heavenly 
creatures,  saints  and  angels,  and  entertain  these  in  their  minds  with  a 
spiritual  pleasure,  and  set  these  before  them  for  a  comfort.  As,  for 
example,  this  saint  is  loved  by  me  above  other  saints,  or  this  angel 
above  other  angels.  And  then  if  any  one  objects  to  this,  declaring  that 
it  is  an  unpermitted  thing,  that  it  should  not  be  done,  they  have  small 
pleasure  in  this,  perhaps  they  are  displeased  ;  and  this  is  at  once  a 
wrong,  and  a  great  hindrance  to  thee  in  thy  business  with  God." 
We  have  seen  how  Tauler  regarded  the  pious  observance  of  all  out- 
ward rites  prescribed  by  the  church  as  a  preparatory  school  for  the 
highest  stage  of  spirituality,  of  the  contemplative  religious  life  ;  how 
therefore  these  Friends  of  God  were  opposed  to  those  who  outwardly 
and  arbitrarily  cast  off  all  external  observances.  The  casting  aside  of 
these  ordinances  should  not  be  a  purposed  thing  ;  it  should  be  a  natu- 
ral falling  off  of  them ;  as  if  the  internal  development  of  the  religious 
life  had  progressed  to  such  a  point,  that  the  outward  rites  which  were 
no  longer  needed  as  supports,  must  fall  away  of  themselves.  And  here 
we  may  observe  the  difference  between  the  men  of  this  bent  and  the 
violent  reformers,  those  fanatical  Beghards,  and  the  Brethren  of  the 
Free  Spirit.  But  we  may  remark  also  how  easily  the  transition  might 
be  made  from  these  principles  to  that  application  of  them.  We  find 
the  following  passage  in  Tauler,5  which  begins  with  a  beautiful  com- 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  17  a.     [This  sermon  ap-        *  Bas.  ed.  fol.  20  a;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  194. 
pears  to  be  wanting  in  the  Fr.  edition.]  5  Bas.  ed.  fol.  21  b ;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  199. 

2  Bas.  ed.  fol.  19  b;  Fr.  ed.  I.  p.  192. 

3  The  same 


FEIENDS   OF   GOD   IN    GERMANY.      TAULER.  409 

parison  :  "  We  gladly  break  off  and  strip  away  the  leaves,  to  let  the 
sun  pour  his  rays,  without  hindrance,  upon  these  young  grapes.  So  all 
helps  that  become  hindrances  fall  away  from  the  Christian  —  images 
of  saints,  knowledge,  exercises,  and  prayer,  and  all  means.  The  man 
should  not  east  these  aside,  however,  but  wait  till  they  fall  off  themselves, 
through  divine  grace  ;  that  is,  when  the  man  is  trained  up  to  a  higher 
stage,  beyond  all  his  understanding."  Tauler,  moreover,  opposes  the  one- 
sided contemplative  bent,  which  despised  the  practical.  He  requires  the 
union  and  mutual  interpenetration  of  the  two  elements.  He  understood 
the  dangers  of  those  who,  without  matured  experience,  would  betake 
themselves  to  the  contemplative  life  alone.  He  looks  upon  the  practi- 
cal life  as  a  needful  probation  ;  and  says  in  this  regard  of  the  young 
people  :  "  One  should  not  lay  down  to  repose  in  the  noble  country  of 
contemplation.  He  may  perhaps  pass  in  there  for  a  while,  but  he 
should  fly  back  again,  as  long  as  he  is  not  fully  mature,  and  is  still 
young  and  unpractised  and  imperfect."  l  Moreover,  he  speaks  against 
the  tendency  of  wanting  to  luxuriate  continually  in  sweet  feelings,  and 
says  : 2  "It  is  no  great  distress  if  a  man  is  not  always  jubilant  and  in 
sweet  enjoyment ;  for  all  this  is  but  a  chance  gift  of  God,  that  is,  when  the 
essential  thing  of  a  devout  temper  abides  in  the  man."  He  speaks  of 
those  who,  when  times  of  stumbling  followed  after  pleasant  enjoyments, 
knew  not  upon  what  to  fix  and  steady  themselves.  "  Their  sweet  emotions 
—  says  he  3  —  have  turned  out  a  weak  foundation  on  which  they  have 
been  trusting,  instead  of  trusting  truly  in  God,  solely  and  alone,  in  love  and 
suffering."  This  luxuriating  in  sweet  feelings  was,  according  to  him, 
the  evil  germ  from  which  the  tendency  of  those  enthusiastic  Friends  of 
God,  who  had  sunk  down  into  pantheistic  self-deification,  had  evolved 
itself,  and  he  remarks  : 4  "  There  are  some  who  so  rest  in  the  sweet- 
ness of  enjoyment  as  to  fall  into  an  improper  freedom."  He  defines  it 
as  a  sinking  back  of  nature  into  itself,  finds  in  it  therefore  an  intermixture 
of  the  natural  and  divine.  It  appears  to  him  a  self-constituted,  artifi- 
cial state  of  being,  which  he  compares  to  the  employment  of  a  multi- 
plicity of  remedies,  that  hinder  nature  in  her  own  healthy  and  sponta- 
neous reactions,  and  he  observes  :  "  In  these  pleasant  moods  and  states 
nature  bends  back  upon  herself  with  agility,  and  quietly  awaits  the 
result  of  that  to  which  the  man  is,  above  all  things,  inclined,  and  aban- 
dons herself  to  security ;  and  just  that  happens  which  I  have  heard 
from  physicians,  that  it  is  not  a  good  thing  for  men  to  use  many  drugs,5 
for,  when  nature  finds  herself  helped,  she  trusts  to  that  and  sits  down 
and  rests,  and  she  thinks  she  has  the  right  help,  and  works  not  so  dili- 
gently as  she  otherwise  does.  But  when  she  is  uncertain  of  all  help, 
she  contrives,  and  works,  and  helps  herself."  He  warns  against  turning 
the  thoughts  inward  too  much  on  one's  self,  against  despondency  under 
temptations,  which  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  means  designed  for  the 
purification  of  the  soul.     He  says  :  6  "  Have  good  courage,  then,  and 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  7  a;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  135.  *  [The  Bas.  ed.  reads:   das  sy  vil  aert- 

2  Bas.  ed.  fol.  134  a;  Fr.  ed.  Ill,  p.  218.    zet  hetten,  which  doubtless  signifies  drugs. 

3  Has.  ed.  fol.  46  a;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  1 13.        Ed. 

♦  Bas.  ed.  fol.  48  a;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  121.  8  Bas.  ed  fol.  134  a;  Fr.  ed.  Ill,  p.  217. 

35 


410  HISTORY   OF  THEOLOGY   AND   DOCTRINE. 

he  joyful  and  not  sorrowful  nor  melancholy,  though  wicked,  impure 
thoughts  may  sometimes  intrude  into  your  minds  ;  let  them  be  as 
wicked  as  they  may,  pay  no  attention  to  them.  For  if  they  come  up 
contrary  to  thy  thoughts  and  wishes,  so  let  them  fall  out  again.  And 
should  this  happen  to  thee,  most  of  all  in  prayer  and  in  thy  approaches 
to  God,  let  them  alone  in  the  name  of  God,  and  suffer  this  conflict  and 
these  impure  suggestions  right  cheerfully  and  humbly  and  quietly  by 
the  will  of  God."  So  in  the  times  of  spiritual  dearth,  when  the  sensi- 
ble presence  of  God  is  wanting,  and  the  soul  feels  itself  forsaken  by 
Him,  he  warns  men  not  to  despair,  but  to  recognize  in  this  an  appoint- 
ment of  Providence  designed  for  the  saving  good  of  man,  for  the  promo- 
tion of  the  divine  life.  "  We  must  —  says  he  ' — intend  and  seek  God 
by  himself.  And  this  foretaste  of  the  great  true  wedding  many  people 
would  fain  have,  and  complain  that  it  cannot  be.  And  if  they  experi- 
ence no  wedding  on  the  deep  ground  of  their  being,  when  they  pray  or 
perform  other  exercises,  and  find  not  God's  presence,  it  vexes  them  ; 
and  this  they  do  less,  or  less  willingly,  and  say  they  have  no  experience  of 
God.  Therefore  they  grow  weary  of  their  pains-taking  and  praying.  This 
a  man  should  never  do.  We  should  never  do  a  duty  the  less  on  such  ac- 
count ;  for  God  was  present  there,  but  we  perceived  him  not.  Yet  he 
went  secretly  to  the  wedding.  Where  God  is,  there  in  truth  is  the  wed- 
ding. And  he  cannot  be  away  from  it  ;  where  a  man  simply  thinks 
of  Him  and  seeks  Him  alone,  there  God  must  of  necessity  be,  either 
sensibly  or  in  a  hidden  manner."  He  adduces  in  illustration  the  case 
of  the  apostles.  They  must  be  deprived  of  visible  intercourse  with  the 
Saviour  ;  meantime  they  must  have  believed  they  were  forsaken  ;  but 
it  was  that  they  might  be  prepared  for  the  invisible  communion  with  the 
Saviour,  and  for  the  receiving  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  Children  —  he 
says2  —  as  to  this  matter,  it  is  seriously  to  be  considered  by  us,  and  we 
must  understand  that,  to  the  beloved  disciples  of  God  and  his  beloved 
friends,  the  Holy  Ghost  could  not  be  given  till  Jesus  Christ  had  first 
gone  away  from  them.  Not  at  all  different  then  is  coldness,  want  of 
comfort,  ineptitude,  so  that  we  feel  heavy  and  slow  to  every  good  work, 
and  cold  and  dark  ;  for  thus  has  Christ  departed  from  us.  If  all  men 
would  see  into  this,  and  make  it  profitable  and  fruitful  to  themselves,  it 
were  a  useful,  noble,  blessed,  divine  thing."  In  another  place  he  says, 
after  citing  the  words  of  Christ,  John  16:  7,  "  The  holy  disciples  were 
then  possessed,  within  and  without,  with  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  he  so  filled  up  every  corner  of  their  being,  heart,  soul, 
sense,  and  powers  of  body  and  mind,  that  the  possession  must  be  out,  or 
must  be  away.  If  they  were  to  come  to  the  true,  spiritual,  inward  com- 
fort, this  possession  must  needs  be  cut  away  from  them,  however  sour 
and  bitter  it  might  be  to  them  ;  they  would  otherwise  have  to  abide  at 
the  lowest  stage,  and  in  the  senses."  3  Accordingly  he  speaks  of  the 
various  leadings  of  Providence  connected  with  the  internal  develop- 
ment of  the  soul,  to  which  men  ought  simply  to  resign  themselves,  in- 

'  Bas.  ed.  fol.  31  a ;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  266.  3  Bas.  ed.  fol.  48  b  ;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  122. 

8  Bas  ed.  fol.  36  a;  Fr.  ed.  II,  p.  69. 


FRIENDS    OF   GOD   IN   GERMANY.      SUSO.  411 

stead  of  choosing  their  own  way.  He  says  : ]  "  God  comes  with  ter- 
rible conflicts,  and  in  wonderful  events,  and  singular  ways,  which  none 
can  understand  but  he  who  experiences  them.  Men  therefore  have  re- 
markable, mysterious  sufferings  among  them,  diverse  forms  of  the  bit- 
ter drug,  so  that  they  are  at  a  loss  which  way  to  turn  ;  but  God  knows 
well  what  he  means  by  it  all."  He  gives  prominence  to  trust  in  Christ 
as  the  means  of  obtaining  victory  over  all  temptations,  and  says  : 9 
"  When  he  (the  devout  man)  cannot  overcome  the  dogs  he  contends 
with,  nor  get  rid  of  them,  he  should  run  in  great  haste  to  the  tree  of 
the  cross,  and  of  the  passion  of  our  dear  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  there 
alone  he  may  cleave  asunder  the  heads  of  the  dogs  that  assault  him  ; 
that  is,  he  there  obtains  the  victory  in  all  his  conflicts,  and  is  entirely 
delivered  and  rid  of  them." 

The  third  individual  whose  character  deserves  to  be  portrayed  with 
some  minuteness,  was  Henry  Suso  of  Suabia,  a  Dominican.  He  was 
born  in  the  year  1300  and  died  in  1365.  He  was  the  author  of  various 
writings,  composed  in  the  form  of  dialogues  and  in  other  forms,  in  the 
German  language,  and  afterwards  translated  into  Latin,  in  which  writ- 
ings also  we  may  discern  the  religious  bent  of  this  class  of  the  Friends 
of  God.  He  is  no  less  remarkable  than  Tauler  for  giving  prominence 
to  the  mediation  of  Christ  as  necessary  to  the  attaining  to  true  commu- 
nion with  God,  and  was  thus  distinguished  from  those  pantheistic  mys- 
tics who,  without  any  mediation,  were  for  sinking  directly  into  the 
depths  of  the  divine  essence.  Thus  he  represents  Christ  as  saying  : 
"  No  man  may  ascend  to  the  divine  heights  nor  have  any  sweet  fore- 
taste of  bliss,  except  he  be  first  drawn  by  the  image  of  my  human  low- 
liness and  sorrow.  The  higher  a  man  climbs  without  passing  through 
my  humanity,  the  lower  he  falls.  My  humanity  is  the  way  he  should 
take,  my  sufferings  the  door  through  which  he  should  press."  3  The 
practical  following  after  Christ  was  considered  of  more  value  by  him 
than  all  transitory  excitement  of  feeling.  He  makes  Christ  say  :  "  No 
man  better  shows  forth  how  near  my  suffering  comes  to  him,  than  he 
who  bears  it  with  me  in  the  exhibition  of  good  works.  Dearer  to  me 
is  an  empty  heart,  regardless  of  earthly  loves,  and  constantly  diligent 
in  pursuing  the  next  duty  after  working  out  the  example  of  my  suffer- 
ings, than  if  thou  wert  continually  complaining  to  me,  and  honoring  my 
sorrow  with  as  many  tears  of  grief  as  ever  drops  of  rain  fell  from  the 
skies  ;  for  that  thou  mightest  follow  me  was  the  end  for  which  I  suf- 
fered the  bitter  death :  though  thy  tears  also  are  well-pleasing  and 
acceptable."  Patience  in  suffering  seemed  to  him  of  more  value  than 
miracles,  as  he  says  :  *  "  Never  was  there  so  much  gazing  at  a  knight 
who  has  come  off  well  at  the  tournament,  as  there  is  gazing  of  all  the 
heavenly  host  at  a  man  who  comes  off  well  in  suffering.  All  the  saints 
stand  sureties  for  a  suffering  man  ;  for  they  have  already  experienced 
it  before,  and  cry  out  with  common  mouth,  that  it  is  no  poison,  but  a 

1  Bas.  ed.  fol.  8  a;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  141.  and  Writings.    Regensburg,  1829,  p.  249 

*  Bas.  ed.  fol.  28  b;  Fr.  ed.  I,  p.  161.  (2d  ed.  1837,  p.  181). 

*  In  his  "Little  book  of  Eternal  Wis-  4  The  same,  p.  253,  (2d  ed.,  p.  184). 
dom."    Comp.  Diepenbrock :  Suso's  Life 


412  HISTORY    OF   THEOLOGY   AND    DOCTRINE. 

wholesome  drink.  Patience  in  suffering  is  greater  than  calling  the  dead 
to  life,  or  other  miraculous  signs  ;  it  is  the  narrow  way  which  opens 
richly  onward  to  the  gate  of  heaven." 

Among  the  religious  appearances  which  grew  out  of  these  times  of 
distress  and  of  excitement  in  Germany,  and  extended  into  the  fifteenth 
century,  belong  too  the  processions  of  the  Scourgers  or  Flagellants. 
It  was  first  in  Italy,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  that,  amid  the  con- 
tests carried  on  with  the  wildest  extravagance  of  passion  between  the 
party  friendly  to  the  pope,  and  the  party  who  went  with  the  emperor, 
—  the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines,  strong  feelings  of  remorse  followed 
suddenly  after  the  tumult  of  these  passionate  contests.  Vast  bodies  of 
men,  girded  with  ropes,  marched  in  procession,  with  songs  and  prayer, 
through  the  cities  and  from  one  city  to  another,  calling  on  the  people 
to  repent.  All  hostilities  ceased.  The  momentary  impression  pro- 
duced by  these  singular  processions  was  powerful,  though  it  did  not 
last  long.  Such  processions  spread  from  Italy  to  other  countries.  In 
Germany  in  particular,  the  impression  produced  by  the  desolating  rav- 
ages of  the  black  death  contributed  to  call  forth  such  demonstrations  ; 
though  even  here,  a  lasting  work  of  repentance  by  no  means  followed, 
in  the  case  of  most ;  but  good  men  were  forced  to  complain  that  ava- 
rice and  every  sort  of  selfish  vice  afterwards  prevailed  to  a  greater 
extent  than  ever.'  Large  bodies  of  men  marched  through  Flanders, 
France,  Germany,  singing  hymns  and  scourging  themselves  till  the 
blood  flowed  freely.  And  as  the  civil  magistrates  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities  now  found  it  necessary  to  interfere  on  account  of  the  dan- 
ger to  civil  and  ecclesiastical  order,  and  on  account  of  the  violation  of 
public  decency  connected  with  the  rapid  spread  cf  this  fanatical  ten- 
dency, Pope  Clement  VI.  for  example  forbidding  these  processions 
on  penalty  of  the  ban,  it  was  necessarily  driven  (since  those  who  were 
seized  with  this  fanatical  spirit  would  not  abandon  its  impulse)  in- 
to an  opposition  to  the  church  which  did  not  originally  belong  to  it. 
The  prevailing  dissatisfaction  with  a  corrupt  church  and  the  opposition 
to  that  church  which  existed  already  in  the  age,  impressed  their  own 
peculiar  stamp  on  these  appearances  also  ;  and  in  the  next  following 
times  these  processions  took  an  heretical  direction.  Those  who  joined 
in  them  spoke  of  the  corruptions  of  the  church,  predicted  approaching 
judgments,  announced  that  all  the  sacraments  in  the  church  were  pro- 
faned by  her  pollutions  and  had  lost  their  validity,  that  but  one  sacra- 
ment as  they  supposed  remained,  which  was  to  copy,  after  their  man- 
ner, the  sufferings  of  Christ.  Hence  they  were  called  cruci  fratres. 
Many  of  them  died  at  the  stake. 

1  D'Achery  Spicil.  Ill,  110:  Nam  ho-   ipsos   contarbantea  ....     Caritas   etiam 
mines  fuermit  postea  magis  avari  et  tena-   ab  illo  tempore  refrigescere  coepit  valde, 
ces,  cum  multo   plura  bona  quam   antea   et  iniquitas  abundavit  cum  ignorantiis  et 
possiderent ;   magis   etiam  cupidi   et  per  peccatis. 
lites,  brigas  et  rixas  atque  per  placita  se- 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Aegidius  of  Rome,  13,  15. 

Agoust,  Bertrand  de.     See  Clement  V. 

Albert  of  Cracow,  373. 

Albic,  276,  295. 

Alexander  V,  83,  84,  91,  95,  259,  265. 

Anagni,  12,  46. 

Andreas,  tailor  at  Prague;  318. 

Angelo,  Cardinal  Peter  of  St.  293. 

Anna  of  England,  241. 

Antichrist.    Militz's   work  on.      A.  Janow's 

work  on  A.  231,  235.     Huss's  work  on  A. 

243. 
Apostoli,  362. 
Aquileia,  76. 
Aragon,  77. 

Aretin,  71,  72,  73,  76,  77,  100. 
Armagh,  Richard  of,  134. 
Aschbach,  326.    n. 
Austie,  299. 
Avignon.    Residence  of  the  popes  in,  20,  42. 

Clement  VII,  in  A.  47.    The  papal  court  in 

A.  67,  75,  76.     Militz  dies  in  A.  177. 

B 

Bacon,  Roger,  134. 

Baden,  Hans  of,  326. 

Balle,  John,  158. 

Baptise,  Bernard,  113,  115. 

Basle,  42, 390.    Letters  missive  for,  ana  com- 
mencement of  the  council  at,  128,  133. 

Beshards  and  Beguines  as  names  of  reproach. 
221,  288,  386.    Mystical  Beghards,  393. 

Benedict  XI,  19. 

Benedict  XII.  40,  41. 

Benedict  XIII,  52,  55,  56,  112, 118. 

Bernhard,  bishop  of  Cita  di  Castello,  330 

Bibruch,  321. 

Bischofteinitz,  174. 

Black  Plague,  383. 

Bohmisch.     Brod,  295. 

Bologna,  277. 

Boniface  VIII,  2, 13,  19.    Proceedings  with 
regard  to  his  memory,  19,  22. 

Boniface  IX,  51,  52,  89,  252,  276. 

Boseo,  Peter  de,  7. 

Braucas,  Cardinal,  272,293. 

Briritta  of  Sweden,  44,  222. 

Broda.  Andrew  of,  268. 

Brogni,  Jean  de,  344. 

Bruges,  137. 

Brussels,  401. 

Butler,  149. 

C 

Caietan,  Cardinal  Benedict.     See  Boniface 
VIII. 


413 


Cambray,  Robert  of.    See  Clement  VII. 

Cardinalis,  John.     See  Reinstein. 

Causis,  Michael  de,  293,  321,  327,  330,  356, 

376. 
Cesarini,  Cardinal  Juliano,  128,  143. 
Charles  IV,  42,  43,  174,  182,  184,  244. 
Charles  V.  of  France,  48. 
Charles  VI.  of  France,  52. 
Charles  of  Durazzo,  king  of  Naples,  50. 
Chesena,  Michael  of,  25. 
Chlum,  John  of,  320,  321,  327,  328,  333,  347, 

356,  367,  368. 
Chotek,  Bernard,  294. 
Clemangis,  Nicholas  of,  53,  55,  56,  62,  64,  70, 

77,  88,  89,  91,  92,  114,  116. 
Clement  V,  20,  23. 
Clement  VI,  41,  43,  232,  412. 
Clement  VII,  47,  56,  57,  164. 
Clericos  laicos,  bull,  5. 
Coelestin  V,  2. 
Cologne,  381. 
Colomia,  the  family  of,  4,  5,  12,  20,  73.    Otto 

of  Colonna.     See  Martin  V. 
Conrad  of  Waldhausen.     See  Waldhausen. 
Constance,  banishment  of  the  clergy  at,  42. 

Letters   missive  for  the  council  of,  101. 

Council  of  Constance,  103,  128. 
Corario,    Cardinal   Angelo.       See   Gregory 

Cervaro,  Peter  of.     See  Nicholas  V. 

Cossa,  Balthasar.     See  John  XXIII. 

Courtney,  148. 

Cracow,  373. 

Cracowec,  316. 

Cremsia,  174. 

Creutz,  236. 

Cusa,  Nicholas  of,  130. 

D 

Dacher,  326.  n. 

D'Ailly,  257,  340,  343,  354. 

Dante,  11. 

Defensor  pacis.    See  Marsilius  of  Padua. 

Duba,  Wenzel  of,  320,  321,  342 

Durand,  245. 

E 
Ebnerin,  Margaret,  383. 
Echart,  Master,  393. 
Edward  III,  134.  140. 
Ernest,  Archbishop  of  Prague,  186. 
Eugine  IV,  128,  243. 


Falkenberg,  John  of,  127. 
Faulfisch,  Nicholas  of,  246. 


35* 


414 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Ferredi,  46. 

Festum  fatuorum,  81. 

Flagellants,  412. 

Franciscans,  the  more  strict  and  the  more 

lax,  24,  46. 
Frederic  VI.,  burgrave  of  Nuremberg,  342. 
Frederic  of  Austria,  102,  106,  111. 
Friends  of  God,  42,  381,  412. 

G 

Gentianus,  109,  111. 

Germans,  protest  of  the  Germans  at  Con- 
stance, 121,  124.  Emigration  of  the  Ger- 
mans from  Prague,  253. 

Gerson,  53,  63,  78,  83,  85,  87,  92,  93,  94,  100, 
107,  108,  127,  128,  316,  352,  375. 

Ghibellines  and  Guelphs,  3,  4,  24,  412. 

Gottleben,  112,  340. 

Greeks,  union  with  the.  Gerson  on  this 
subject,  92,  93.  Jerome  of  Prague  on  this 
subject,  373,  374. 

Gregory  XI,  44,  45,  56,  127,  137,  146,  182. 

Gregory  XII,  71,  112,  255,  276. 

Grosshead,  Robert,  134. 


Hallam,  Robert,  121. 

Hardt,  Hermann  of,  330. 

Heidelberg,  372. 

Hessen,  Henry  of.    See  Langenstein. 

Hildegard,  the  prophecies  of,  381. 

Hirschau,  374. 

Hubner,  246. 

Huss,  48,  235,  371. 

Hussinetz,  235. 


Indulgences,Wicklif  against  Indulgences,  180. 

Huss  on,  280,  287. 
Innocent  VI,  44. 
Innocent  VII,  70,  247. 
Inquisition,  392. 
Islep,  135,  136. 


Jacob,  298. 

Jacobellus  331,  338. 

Janduno,  John  of,  25,  147. 

Janow,  Matthias  of,  192,  235. 

Jerome  of  Prague,  245,  253,  254,  286,  371, 

380. 
Jesenic,  272,  294. 
Jews,  converted  by  Conrad  of  Waldhausen, 

185. 
Jizin,  Master  Von,  289. 
Jistebnitz,  Sigmund  of,  250. 
Joachim,  writings  of  the  abbot,  135, 381. 
John  XXII,  23,  40,  147,  395. 
John  XXIII,  89,  112,  262,  276,  328,  329,  339, 

342. 
John  of  Antioch,  108. 
John,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  330. 
John  of  Leitomysl,  296,  297,  340. 
John,  bishop  of  Lubec,  (Lebus)  330. 
John  of  Paris,  13,  15,  19,  153. 
Jubilee,  J.  Boniface  VIII,  3.    Reduction  of 

the  time  of  the  J.  to  50  years  by  Clement 

VI,  41.    Reduction  to  30  years  by  Urban 

VI,  51. 


Kebel,  John  of,  250. 
Klonkot,  182. 


K 


Knighton,  150. 

Knights  Templar,suppression  of  their  order,23. 
Knin,  Matthias,  Pater  of,  250. 
Kozihradek,  299. 

Ladislaus  of  Naples,  73,  75,  90,  100,  276,  283. 

Lambeth,  148. 

Lancaster,  Duke  of,  93,  136, 147,  162. 

Langenstein,  Henry  of.   From  Hessia,  46, 49. 

Langham,  Simon,  136. 

Latzemback,  Henry  of,  328. 

Lazan,  Henry  of,  316. 

Lazan,  Lefl  of,  317. 

Leipsic,  254. 

Leitmeritz,  184. 

Lenfant,  360. 

Limoisin,  46. 

Lollards,  143, 144. 

London,  council  at,  164. 

Lord's  Supper.  Wicklif  s  doctrine  of  the,  155, 
159.  Janow  on  the  frequent  participation 
of,  220,  231.  Janow's  approval  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  both 
forms,  231. 

Louis,  the  Bavarian,  24,  43. 

Louis  of  Bavaria,  112,  370. 

Lucca,  74,  75. 

Luna,  Peter  of.    See  Benedict  XIII. 

Lutterworth,  142. 

Lyons,  Clement's  coronation  at,  20. 

M 

Malatesta,  112. 

Marci,  Cardinal  S.,  104,  340. 

Marseilles,  72. 

Marsilius  of  Padua,  author  of  the  Defensor 
pacis,  225,  235. 

Martin  V,  126,  128. 

Martin,  disciple  of  Huss,  320. 

Mauritius  of  Prague,  259. 

Mendicants,  Clemangis  on  the,  59.  Richard 
of  Armagh,  their  opponent,  135.  Wicklif 
and  the  mendicants,  137,  141,  145,  161. 
Militz  and  the  mendicants,  198.  Conrad  of 
Waldhausen  and  the  mendicants,  203. 

Merswin,  Rulmann,  387. 

Michael  of  Deutschbrod,  or  de  Causis,  293, 
300,  321. 

Milheim,  John  of,  235. 

Militz,  173,  183,  235. 

Mladenowic,  Peter  of,  320,  332,  342,  367, 375. 

N 
Nass,  Doctor,  272. 
Nicholas  V,  36,  37. 
Nicholas  of  Basle,  390. 
Nicholas  of  Leitomysl,  246. 
Nieder,  John,  381. 

Niem,  Theodoric  of,  52,  56,  72,  74,  75,  89,  91. 
Nordlingen,  Henry  of,  222,  383. 
Nogaret,  William  of,  12. 
Nurenberg,  320,  381. 

O 

Occam,  William,  25,  38,  40. 

Oertel,  John,  299. 

Ofen,  373. 

Oxford,  134, 135, 142, 146,  241,  244. 


Paganns,  Peter,  244. 
Palacky,  243,  244,  n. 

Paletz,  118,  244,  295,  310,  321, 327,  330,  331, 
336,  356. 


INDEX   OF   NAMES,   ETC. 


415 


Pantheistic  Friends  of  God,  393. 

Pappenheim,  martial  of  the  empire,  371. 

Paris,  university  of,  232,  371,  407.  Liberal 
tendencies  of,  21,  48,  49,  52,  54,  90,  91,  93. 
See  also  Gerson,  D'Ailly,  Clemangis,  Lan- 
genstein. 

Pavia,  128. 

Peray,  Henry,  147. 

Pernau,320.' 

Peter  of  Dresden,  338. 

Petrarch,  44,  67. 

Philargi,  Cardinal  Peter.     See  Alexander  V. 

Philip  the  Fair  of  France,  5. 

Piccolomini,  Aeneas  Silvio,  380.   n. 

Pisa,  flight  of  the  cardinals  of  Gregory  XII 
to  P.  77.  Appointment  of  the  council  at 
Pisa,  77.     Council  of  P.  82,  87. 

Plaul,  Master,  83. 

Plescow,  373. 

Poggio,  378,  379. 

Pniehatic,  316. 

Prachatic,  Christiann  of,  298,  310. 

Prague,  254.  Synod  of  Prague  A.  D.  1389, 
220,  233.  Synod  of  Prague  A.  D.  1413, 
297.  Trial  at" Prague  A.  D.  1414,  256.  See 
also  Militz,  Conrad  of  Waklhausen,  Huss, 
Jerome. 

Prato,  Cardinal  da,  20,  22. 

Predestination,  doctrine  of,  by  Wicklif,  167, 
168. 

Privagno  of  Bari.     See  Urban  VI. 

Property,  rights  of.  Wicklifs  views  re- 
specting the,  140.    Views  of  Huss,  269. 

R 

Ratolfszell,  112. 

Retchenthal,  Ulrie,  326. 

Reinstein,  John  Cardinalis  of,  272,  320,  328. 

Richard  II,  147. 

Roger,  cardinal;   see  Gregory  XI. 

Pome,   council   at,  A.  D.  1412,  90;    Militz  at 

Rome,  182;  Conrad  of  Waklhausen  at  R. 

184;  Janow  at  Rome,  186. 
Rudolph  of  Austria,  191. 
Rupert,  emperor,  84,  256. 
Ruysbrock,  386,  396,  401,  407. 

S 

Saint- worship,  opposed  by  Wicklif,  170;  de- 
fended by  Huss,  324. 

Saiset  de  Pamiers,  6. 

Sacraments,  Wicklif  opposed  to  the  multi- 
plication of,  170;  see  also  Lord's  Supper. 

Savon  a,  74. 

Schaffhansen,  106,  339. 

Schism  in  the  church,  47,  107. 

Siena,  74,  128. 

Siena,  Catharine  of,  44. 

Sigismund,  emperor,  100,  101,  105, 107,  108, 
111,  118,  126,  317,  318,  329,  339,  343,  355, 
359,  368,  369,  370. 

Sophia  of  Bohemia,  271,  287. 

Stekna,  258. 


Stephen  of  Dola,  251,  262,  295. 
Sritnev,  Thomas  of,  245.   n. 
Strass'burg,  383,  389. 
Suabia,  411. 
Sudbury,  148,  161. 
Suso,  Henry,  388,  411. 


Tauler,  382,  383,  407,  411. 

Theodoric,  disciple  of  Militz,  180. 

Tiem,  Wenzel,  321. 

Toulouse,  university  of,  64. 

Transubstantiation,  doctrine  of;  attacked  by 
Wicklif,  151,  157;  Huss  on  the  doctrine  of, 
271,  280,  337,  338,  339;  Stanislaus  of  Zna- 
im  on  the  doctrine  of,  244. 

Trevisa,  John  of,  149. 

Turlepinus,  214. 

U 

Ueberlingen,  374. 
Unigenitus,  constitution,  41. 
Unam  sanctam,  bull,  8. 
Urban  V,  44,  136, 179. 
Urban  VI,  46,  47,  164,  223. 
Urie,  Zacharias  of,  107. 


Vechta,  Conrad  of,  295. 

Vienna,  372. 

Vienne,  council  at  A.  D.  1311,  42;    Nicholas 

of  Basle  burnt  at,  392. 
Villani  on  Boniface  VII,  2 ;  on  his  death,  13 ; 

on   Clement  V,  22,23;  on  John  XXU,  and 

his  deposition,  36,  38. 
Vincennes,  48. 
Viterbo,  74. 

W 

Waldensians,  390. 

Waldhausen,  Conrad  of,  183,  192,  258. 

Wallenrod,  John  of,  368. 

Wellenowitz,  Nicholas  of,  250. 

Wenzel  of  Bohemia,  241,  252,  255,  271,  298. 

Winterther,  John  of,  41,  42,  43. 

Wistow,  372. 

Wicklif,  135,  173;  Wicklifs  influence  on 
Huss  and  Wicklifite  movements  in  Bohe- 
mia, 240. 

Wilsnack,  337. 

Witepsk,  373. 

Witold  of  Lithuania,  373. 

Wladislaw  of  Poland,373. 

Woodhall,  135. 


Zabarella,  109,  110,  272,  344,  345,  355,  379. 

Zbynek    237,  247,  252,  272,  272,  273. 

Zdenek  of  Labaun,  298. 

Zebrak,  293. 

Znaim,  Peter  of,  244. 

Znaim,  Stanislaus  of,  235,  244,  295. 


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